River City actor Iain Robertson dragged woman by hair, court hears

River City actor Iain Robertson has been accused of dragging his former partner by the hair during an assault at his flat in Glasgow.

Amiera Darwish, a fellow actor, told a court that Robertson threatened her on two occasions over a period of months in 2014, including one where he left her "cowering" in fear.

She later ended their relationship, but said the 45-year-old bombarded her with an "obsessive" amount of calls and texts, as well as gifts.

Robertson - who played Stevie O'Hara in the BBC soap - denies eight charges involving four women, spanning from 2004 and 2020, including a charge of rape.

Darwish, 40, told the High Court in Glasgow she had first met Robertson via a director they knew around late 2012 when she was about to graduate from drama school.

The pair became friends before starting a relationship which lasted until 2015.

She said this involved spending time together in Glasgow and London, where she had landed an acting job.

The witness described Robertson, from Carbeth, Stirlingshire, as initially "charming".

But she added that his behaviour became "emotionally controlling and manipulative", which she claimed then moved on to "threats and then physical violence".

She described an assault at his Glasgow home in late 2014 after a row.

Darwish told jurors: "I ended up on the floor - I do not know how I got there. He dragged me by the hair from the bedroom into the hall.

"I was trying to make it stop. It was painful. I was trying to stop my hair being pulled. Once in the hall, he let go - I stood up and said: 'We are finished, we are over'."

Darwish called her mother, who Robertson allegedly tried to push when she turned up.

The trial heard Robertson also grabbed a treasured clock belonging to the witness and damaged it.

Darwish also spoke about an earlier incident in 2014, the day before she was due to go to a photoshoot for acting work.

She claimed Robertson had "lunged" at her during an argument, adding: "Something happened where I was cowering because I thought he was going to hit me.

"I had my hands and arms over my head. I do not remember if he struck me or not."

Darwish said Robertson swore at her and threatened to hit her.

She later fell asleep and woke to find a scratch on her nose.

"He had been behaving aggressively, like posturing forwards into my space," she said.

"He was angry about something. It was really horrible. He was almost like 'I will teach you a lesson...if you behave this way, I will do this'."

She told prosecutor John Keenan KC she was shaken and scared and felt vulnerable and belittled.

"Instead of going into the photoshoot empowered, I felt small or like mousey," she said.

Darwish said the relationship ended in early 2015.

She was back in London rehearsing an acting job when she claimed Robertson became jealous about her being out with fellow cast members after rehearsals.

She broke up with him over the phone and switched her phone off.

When she put it back on, she said there were 90 missed calls including a six-minute voicemail.

She also alleged that Robertson had been tracking which theatres she was performing in.

She said he sent flowers to the press night of the show she was in, as well as Graze snack boxes, which she told the court she did not want.

She also told the trial Robertson "drank a lot", describing him at one stage as a "violent alcoholic".

The trial earlier heard the conclusion of the testimony from another woman who claims she was raped by Robertson.

The two knew each other having met while working on River City.

This woman was asked by Robertson's then KC Paul Nelson, during pre-recorded evidence, if he had ever spoken to her in 2019 about how he was apparently "struggling" with their relationship.

She said she did not remember.

The lawyer then put to her if she had been aware Robertson had spoken to fellow River City actor Stephen Purdon – who plays Bob O'Hara – about them.

The woman said: "I do not think so."

Nelson concluded his questioning by stating Robertson did not rape or sexually assault her.

She replied: "That is incorrect."

Another woman, who first met Robertson through their television work in 2003, also described his drinking and controlling behaviour, including dictating how often she could see her friends.

The 48-year-old said that she began a university course while seeing Robertson, and felt there was "animosity" about it.

She told the court that on one occasion when she was preparing her first essay in the kitchen, Robertson "came up, did not say anything" and poured a bottle of wine over her and her course work.

The woman told jurors she left Robertson after another alleged incident had her feeling "worn down and exhausted".

She will continue her evidence on Wednesday.