Ex-Spandau Ballet star Ross Davidson guilty of rape

A former singer for Spandau Ballet has been found guilty of rape and attempted rape.

Ross Davidson, who used Ross Wild as his stage name, was known for singing with the 80s band Spandau Ballet in 2018 as well as starring in the Queen-themed West End musical We Will Rock You.

The 37-year-old from Finchley, north London, had pleaded not guilty to the rape of a woman in London in March 2015. He also denied the attempted rape and sexual assault of another woman in Thailand in December 2019.

Jurors at Wood Green Crown Court found him guilty of all charges after more than 11 hours of deliberation.

Prosecutor Richard Hearnden said Davidson had been thought of as "a bit of a sex symbol" but the two women found he had "a much darker side that they did not notice, at least at first".

Davidson had met both women on the dating app Tinder and claimed that all sexual activity he engaged in was consensual.

He described himself as "sex positive", explaining that for him the term meant having "open dialogue" and being "open minded about people's predilections".

The rape victim told the jury she woke to find Davidson assaulting her while she slept in his bed at his London home. She said she felt "helpless" and "scared to react".

She also said that, prior to the alleged assault, Davidson had told her he was interested in the idea of sex with "a person in a helpless state, someone not moving".

As well as his new convictions, Davidson had earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of voyeurism in December 2019 against the woman in Thailand after he secretly filmed a video of her as she slept.