TV auctioneer 'promised not to hurt wife again'

Television auctioneer Charles Hanson promised his wife he would "never lay a finger" on her "ever again" in a message sent days before he was arrested, a court has heard.

The 46-year-old is on trial at Derby Crown Court charged with controlling or coercive behaviour, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assault by beating.

He is accused of using violence against his wife Rebecca Hanson over a 10-year period.

On Tuesday, the jury was shown WhatsApp messages exchanged between Mr Hanson and his wife prior to his arrest on 14 June 2023.

The court heard they included a message from Mr Hanson sent on 5 June - nine days before his arrest - which read: "I promise now I will never ever lay a finger on you... ever again. Let's just give it a go, we have been through a lot in 13 years."

He added: "Let me have one more chance and let me show you what a good husband... I can be."

One of Mrs Hanson's responses said: "Fed-up with this, you will never change."

Days later, in a message, Mr Hanson said: "I know if I do anything with laying hands on again I will have to walk.

"I really do want to try and make it work, I love you and realise what I need to do. Can we not give it a two-week cooling off and see where we are? I did not sleep last night thinking about everything."

In another message, Mrs Hanson responded and said: "I'm past that point I'm afraid."

A few days before Mr Hanson was arrested, Mrs Hanson told him in a text that she wanted to separate after he "pushed [her] too far".

In messages sent to his wife earlier in the month, he said: "Please don't say you are done, it's like a knife through my heart. Please give me one more chance. I promise I will change and I know I can."

Mrs Hanson's mother, Jacqueline Ludlam, told the court the couple's relationship began as "quite a normal marriage" before Mr Hanson's "outbursts" became more frequent.

She said: "She had been telling me she was scared of him and she had got to get away from him. It was not very practical for her to leave."

Mrs Ludlam told the jury Mr Hanson was "desperate" to try anything and agreed to go to marriage counselling, which the jury had heard the couple attended one session of in May 2023.

She told the court there had been one occasion when her daughter rang her while on holiday with Mr Hanson in Wales, and said he had locked her in a hotel room and driven away.

Sasha Wass KC, defending Mr Hanson, asked Mrs Ludlam why she had not contacted anybody about any of the allegations made by her daughter about Mr Hanson.

Mrs Ludlam said: "If this had been a regular man, I think we would have acted differently. We were still thinking this was a celebrity status and somehow he had to be treated differently from a normal person.

"There would be a flare-up and then there would be a bit of a calm, and you would hope for the best and then there would be a flare-up."

Ms Wass said: "You knew perfectly well that Rebecca was a drama queen making allegations which you, no doubt, believed were exaggerated or untrue."

Mrs Ludlam replied: "That's not true."

The trial continues.

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