Vanessa Scammell

I remember Craig saying he had to run out for a minute.

I remember this because it was so unusual for him to leave his dressing room so close to the show starting, unless of course it was for a mic check.

He returned a few minutes later and told me that he had gone to check on C3 to make sure she was okay, as she had confided in him that C1's bullying had become so relentless that she was not going to return to the show.

He told me that he tried to make her feel better, tried to give her confidence.

Craig often kisses and hugs his colleagues, male, female, straight, gay.

He was gone for a few minutes and then went on stage.

When I gave this evidence, I was accused of making up stories to support Craig.

And again, big media ran with the headlines, McLaughlin's partner accused of lying.

In 2018, when allegations against Craig McLachlan were first aired, there were documents that the ABC showed on air to suggest that Craig McLachlan had indeed been a bully.

Evidence that his Rocky Horror Show castmate had sought assistance in how to deal with bullying.

This was used as proof of Craig's guilt.

But there was nothing further from the truth.

Let's go to the magistrate's final rulings.

Number 650.

Number 651.

The kiss occurred in private and was accompanied by words of admiration and emotion.

Leaving aside the issue of the sincerity of those words, as it is irrelevant, I'm not persuaded that the words imbue the kiss with a sexual connotation.

Though romantic, the kiss was gentle and brief and not accompanied by any touching of a sexual nature.

Number 653.

The Crown has not persuaded me beyond reasonable doubt of the element of indecency, nor the fault element.