Craig McLachlan is gearing up for his first tell-all interview since being acquitted of sexual harassment claims in December.
And in an upcoming Channel Seven special, which is set to air on Sunday, the 55-year-old actor breaks down in tears as he discusses the accusations.
‘I was public enemy number one. I am sitting here today, 100 per cent acquitted, I’m an innocent man,’ he says.
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Speaking out: Craig McLachlan is gearing up to give his first tell-all interview after being acquitted of sexual harassment claims in December
Craig, who was accused of sexual harassment by several actresses he’d worked with, adds: ‘The thing that I’m alleged to have done… to my friend. [I thought] how am I gonna survive this?’
McLachlan goes on to say that ‘in this post-Weinstein, #MeToo world gone mad, I can’t win’, and then insists: ‘It didn’t happen.’
His longtime girlfriend, pianist and conductor Vanessa Scammell, was also interviewed for the Spotlight: Horror Show special.
Standing by him: His longtime girlfriend, pianist and conductor Vanessa Scammell, also appeared alongside McLachlan in the interview
Scammell says in the trailer that McLachlan was ‘abandoned by everybody’ after the allegations against him came out.
Earlier this month, McLachlan said his life had been ‘ruined’ in another teaser for the tell-all interview – his first since his acquittal.
‘You see this is not just about a headline for the day, this is ruining lives,’ he said in the earlier promo.
Tears: Craig claims his life has been ‘ruined’ in a new teaser for his tell-all interview with Channel 7’s Spotlight
‘Not just me, you want to crucify me? Fine. Look what it’s done to my beautiful partner, look what it continues to do to my family every day.’
In the first teaser for Spotlight: Horror Show, McLachlan looked dishevelled, sporting a grey beard and long hair.
‘Hope your lives are good, treasure them because they can be taken away like that,’ he said, before snapping his fingers.
Upset: ‘You see this is not just about a headline for the day, this is ruining lives,’ McLachlan said in the video. ‘Not just me, you want to crucify me? Fine. Look what it’s done to my beautiful partner, look what it continues to do to my family every day’
McLachlan is set to tell his side of the story in the upcoming interview, which follows his acquittal on sexual assault charges.
In December, McLachlan was found not guilty of indecently assaulting actors during the running of a hit musical.
McLachlan had maintained his alleged offending while working on the production was no more inappropriate than a cricketer giving a teammate a pat on the bum.
Dramatic: In an earlier teaser, the former Neighbours star looks dishevelled, sporting a grey beard and long hair
Statement: ‘Hope your lives are good, treasure them because they can be taken away like that,’ he says in that video, before snapping his fingers
In a 105-page decision, Melbourne Magistrate Belinda Wallington found McLachlan not guilty of all charges.
Ms Wallington said it was McLachlan’s ‘egotistical self-entitled sense of humour’ that led him to believe at least one of his alleged victim’s would either not mind or find his behaviour funny.
‘I want it noted the following: The four complainants were brave and honest witnesses. I was not persuaded that there was evidence of collusion between the complainants,’ Ms Wallington said.
‘I was not persuaded that there was evidence of motive, or that the complaints were made for reason of career ambition or any other such reason.’
Court: In December, McLachlan was found not guilty of indecently assaulting actors during the running of a hit musical
As the contested hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court drew to an end, it was heard McLachlan’s defence had submitted 160 pages denying the allegations.
He had endured months of scrutiny which saw him and Vanessa forced to make their way through media packs outside of a Melbourne court.
Police had alleged McLachlan either indecently assaulted or assaulted four complainants in Melbourne between April 26, 2014 and July 13, 2014.
Complaints: Police had alleged McLachlan either indecently assaulted or assaulted four complainants in Melbourne between April 26, 2014 and July 13, 2014
The allegations became public after one of his alleged victims went public following the worldwide scandal involving disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein.
McLachlan immediately filed defamation action against The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, the ABC and an actress over the news reports last year.
The defamation trial had been postponed until the criminal proceedings in Melbourne finished and is now expected to proceed.
McLachlan has applied for the police to pay his costs.
Pictured: McLachlan as he appeared in the hit soap opera Neighbours back in his glory days