Police in Australia are looking into allegations of sexual misconduct against former Neighbours star Craig McLachlan.
Three actresses have accused the 52-year-old actor – who played Henry Ramsay in the popular soap – of behaving inappropriately during a 2014 run of the stage musical The Rocky Horror Show.
He has vehemently denied the allegations, describing them as “entirely false”.
While investigations are ongoing, the star has agreed to take an absence from his leading role in the musical, while a TV series he also appears in, The Doctor Blake Mysteries, has been suspended.
The three women, Christie Whelan Browne, Angela Scundi and Erika Heynatz, reportedly came forward to protect other members of the Rocky Horror Show cast.
Whelan Browne claimed that during one performance, McLachlan – who was playing Frank N Furter in the production – pulled her underwear to the side and kissed her buttock.
She told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation: “I think people who know him know that he’s generous, warm, funny… I saw a different side come out in him which was terrifying.”
Scundi and Heynatz have alleged that McLachlan made unwanted advances towards them.
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While investigations are pending, the company behind the current Rocky Horror Show run, The Gordon Frost Organisation, have agreed with McLachlan he should not appear on stage for now.
It said in a statement: “We have spoken to Craig and have mutually agreed it is not appropriate for him to continue in the current production.
“We will be conducting a full internal investigation and will co-operate fully with authorities. We were not aware of any details of these allegations until they were published in the media today.”
Victoria Police added: “As the investigation is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to make any further comment.”
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McLachlan has denied the allegations, describing them as “baseless”.
He told ABC’s investigation: “Frankly, they seem to be simple inventions, perhaps made for financial reasons, perhaps to gain notoriety. In either event, they are to the best of my knowledge utterly and entirely false.”
McLachlan also said: “I am, and have been at all relevant times, in a stable relationship with my long-term partner.”