Justin Lee Collins’ court case into alleged domestic abuse got off to an explosive start in St Albans this week. The former presenter of ‘The Friday Night Project’ is accused of a campaign of domestic abuse against his ex-girlfriend Anna Larke, as well as assault.

According to The Sun, the court heard how Collins became “insistent” that his girlfriend “sleep facing towards him” and would wake her in the dead of night and “criticise” her if she had turned away. A jury of nine women and three men heard that Collins also forced Larke, 38, to shut down her social media accounts after reading her messages, while also “verbally abusing her and physically assaulting her.” Perhaps most shockingly, the former Channel 4 star compiled a sexual dossier of sorts in a ‘Pukka Pad’ notepad, listing every sexual experience that Larke had with previous partners. Prosecutor Peter Shaw said, “He would ask her questions and then write it down,” adding, “He would call her a slag and a filthy whore and similar derogatory terms…He once told her she was riddled with STDs.” Other accusations levelled against Collins include throwing a satellite navigation device at Ms Larke and pulling her hair. An audio clip was played in court in which Collins was heard to have become irate at is partner after the pair had returned from the pub. The presenter yells, “When you’re f****** with me, you look at the f****** ground, you look at a tree, you look at a bench, you look at any f****** inanimate object, you do not look at any other f****** human being”.

Collins denies a single count of putting a person in fear of violence by harassment. He told detectives investigating the case that Ms Larke was the possessive one in the relationship.