Lalla wins case over bogus sex photos
- Publication: Belfast Telegraph
- Date: 1983-07-14
- Author:
- Page: 7
- Language: English
ACTRESS Lalla Ward was horrified when a girlie magazine published a photograph of her and [?] shots of full frontal nudity" a judge was told yesterday.
The photographs were not of her body, although they were made to appear so.
Lalla, who appeared in BBC's Dr. Who, and later wed its star, Tom Baker went to the High Court in London and received "substantial damages" in settlement of her libel action over the photographs published in Club International.
Lalla (31), daughter of Lord and Lady Bangor, who have family connections with Castle Ward, Co. Down, sued Paul Raymond, his publishing company, magazine editor Roger Cook and film producer James Kenelm Clarke.
The petite fair-haired actress was said to have always refused roles which demanded nudity.
Her counsel, Mr. David Eady, QC, told Mr. Justice Mars-Jones that she had appeared regularly on television programmes mainly intended for children or family viewing.
In February, 1981, she was horrified to discover that Club International had on its cover a photograph of her, with the words "Our latest celebrity nude sensation!"
Lesbian
Inside was a feature, consisting of 16 photographs accompanied by a series of captions, some of which purported to portray her in a lesbian embrace. There were various shots of full frontal nudity.
The court heard that in 1973 Miss Ward had taken part in a film, produced by Mr. Clarke, called Got It Made. It was a film with actors of high calibre and was in no sense pornographic. It portrayed the unhappy relationship of a young girl on the verge of marriage, and there was one scene in which Lalla appeared topless with a male actor.
Misleading
Subsequently, without her knowledge or consent, Mr. Clarke interposed scenes in that film involving the body of another actress and re-issued it under the title Sweet Virgin. It included scenes involving full frontal nudity and lesbian activity, in which the impression was falsely conveyed that she was participating.
Mr. Eady said it was from this version of the film that stills were supplied by Mr. Clarke to the publishers of Club International, again without Miss Ward's consent or knowledge.
She was greatly distressed by the publication, since it came without any warning and she found it tasteless and offensive.
The feature in the magazine clearly conveyed the impression that she was a hypocrite who had a history of pornographic modelling. The defendants now accepted that the photographs published were misleading.
As well as the undisclosed damages, she would be paid her legal costs.
Mr. Desmond Browne, for all the defendants, said Mr. Clarke considered that for what he believed to be good artistic reasons, he was entitled under the BFPA Equity Agreement to add the further scenes not involving Miss Ward to the film without first seeking her consent.
Before the photographs appeared in Club International, Mr. Raymond, the publisher and the editor, did not view the film and therefore did not realise that the photographs were from scenes in which Lalla had not taken part.
"All the defendants join in recognising that the pictures portraying the lesbian scene, and the full frontal nudity, were of the body of another actress and that they accordingly gave a completely false impression so far as Miss Ward was concerned," said counsel.
Miss Ward married Tom Baker in November, 1980. They parted last year.
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- APA 6th ed.: (1983-07-14). Lalla wins case over bogus sex photos. Belfast Telegraph p. 7.
- MLA 7th ed.: "Lalla wins case over bogus sex photos." Belfast Telegraph [add city] 1983-07-14, 7. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: "Lalla wins case over bogus sex photos." Belfast Telegraph, edition, sec., 1983-07-14
- Turabian: "Lalla wins case over bogus sex photos." Belfast Telegraph, 1983-07-14, section, 7 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Lalla wins case over bogus sex photos | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Lalla_wins_case_over_bogus_sex_photos | work=Belfast Telegraph | pages=7 | date=1983-07-14 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=25 April 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Lalla wins case over bogus sex photos | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Lalla_wins_case_over_bogus_sex_photos | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=25 April 2025}}</ref>
