Craig McLachlan’s defiant partner speaks out on his acquittal ahead of Seven’s tell-all interview

Craig McLachlan’s first tell-all interview since being acquitted of indecent assault and assault charges in December will premiere on Sunday night.

And just hours before Seven’s documentary airs, his devoted partner – pianist Vanessa Scammell – has broken her silence on the ‘trauma and devastation’ the couple faced amid the three-year legal battle. 

On Sunday, Vanessa told The Telegraph she ‘didn’t have to ask Craig if any of it was true, I knew’, but claims her opinion ‘never mattered’.

‘I was not heard because no one wanted to hear from me. I was never part of the narrative because as an educated, successful career woman, that wasn’t going to assist the public decimation of my partner,’ she said.

Craig, 55, was found not guilty in December 2020 of seven counts of indecent assault and six counts of common law assault.

Vanessa said the couple’s ordeal was a ‘travesty’, and that the ‘ripples of destruction it caused are beyond measure.’

She also touched upon her partner’s devastating suicide attempt, after he became so depressed by the accusations he couldn’t see a way out.

‘Strength comes in many forms. Truth. Family. Friends. Knowledge. And although it’s been the toughest three years of our life, Craig has shown the most strength of us all,’ she added. ‘Our future is bright, I can assure you.’

In the upcoming Channel Seven special, the actor broke down in tears as he discussed the accusations. 

‘I was public enemy number one. I am sitting here today, 100 per cent acquitted, I’m an innocent man,’ he said in a trailer released on Monday.

Craig, who was accused of sexual harassment by several actresses he’d worked with dating back to 2014, adds: ‘The thing that I’m alleged to have done… to my friend. [I thought] how am I gonna survive this?’

He went on to say that ‘in this post-Weinstein, #MeToo world gone mad, I can’t win’, and then insists: ‘It didn’t happen.’

Craig was accused of indecently assaulting actors during the running of hit musical The Rocky Horror Show. 

He 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.

In a 105-page decision, Melbourne Magistrate Belinda Wallington found Craig not guilty of all charges.

Ms Wallington said it was Craig’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.’

As the contested hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court drew to an end, it was heard Craig’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. 

Craig 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. The case does not currently have a future court date.

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