Doctor Strange actress's husband says woman accusing couple of sexual abuse is 'evil'

4 May 2022, 15:14 | Updated: 10 May 2022, 18:05

Zara Phythian appeared in 2016's Doctor Strange
Zara Phythian appeared in 2016's Doctor Strange. Picture: Alamy

By Patrick Grafton-Green

Doctor Strange star Zara Phythian's husband has accused a woman who claims the couple sexually abused her when she was a child of being "manipulative and evil".

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Victor Marke also told a court he only had sex with her when she was 18 to "feel young again", MailOnline reported.

He and his wife are alleged to have carried out offences between 2005 and 2008 on a girl aged between 13 and 15, with Marke allegedly filming the incidents on occasion.

They deny 14 charges of sexual activity with a child.

READ MORE: 'I'm no paedophile': Husband of Marvel actress claims sex abuse victim 'jealous' of wife

READ MORE: Dr Strange actress and husband accused of 'repeatedly having sex with 13-year-old girl'

Nottingham Crown Court was previously told Phythian asked the teen to play a game of "dare" after plying her with alcohol and went on to give her husband oral sex.

The young girl was encouraged to copy the actress and then Marke had sex with both her and Phythian, the court heard.

The jury has been hearing Marke's police interviews, during which he denied having sex with the girl when she was underage or without her consent.

During one interview, which was read out to the jury, an officer quizzed him on having sex with the alleged victim when she was over 18.

"What did you get from it?" the officer asked him. He replied: "Feeling young again."

During another interview, Marke denied being a paedophile, suggesting the allegations were made because the woman was "jealous" of Phythian's success.

He branded the allegations "paedophile s**t" when quizzed by officers after his arrest, the court was previously told.

The court heard Marke also faces four further allegations of historic indecent assault on another teenage girl.

The trial continues.