Three actresses have claimed film director Michael Winner demanded to see their naked breasts during auditions.
Debbie Arnold, who played the role of April Branning in EastEnders, and Crossroads actress Cindy Marshall-Day made the accusations against Winner, who died in 2013.
A third actress, who wished to remain anonymous, said she agreed to Winner’s lewd demand when she was only 16 and still in drama school.
She said: ‘I remember him sitting behind his desk with his fat cigar and ordering me to stand by the window and take my top off.
‘I was terribly naive at the time and didn’t tell anybody. He was a vile man.’
Debbie Arnold, pictured in Coronation Street in 2012, has said film director Michael Winner demanded to see her naked breasts during an audition
Cindy Marshall-Day, pictured in 2003 in Crossroads, claimed Winner had also demanded to see her naked breasts during an audition in 1985
None of the women lodged a complaint with police because they feared it would wreck their acting careers.
They have now decided to speak out after dozens of actresses made allegations of sexual assault and rape against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.
Recalling her ordeal Ms Arnold, now 62, was invited to Winner’s home in the early 1980s after he got in touch with her mother Mary, who was her theatrical agent.
Although she was not trying out for a specific role she hoped the meeting with the powerful film director would help kick-start her acting career.
She went up to the first floor of his mansion in Holland Park where she was asked to stand by a large window so he could supposedly see her in a better light.
Speaking to the Sunday People she said: ‘He asked me to take off my top, then my bra and told me to massage my breasts.
‘I asked him to repeat the question because I thought I was hearing things. I started walking away from the window and he asked me why.
‘I told him I couldn’t believe what he had said. I thought it was a joke so I was appalled when he repeated the question.
‘I walked right up to him and told him, ‘f*** off, you dirty old pervert’.
Michael Winner, (pictured with Geraldine in 2011), who directed more than 30 films during his career, died of liver cancer aged 77 in January 2013
Ms Arnold, who has also appeared on Coronation Street, reported Winner to Equity, the actors’ union, but claims she was laughed at down the phone.
She said she felt too scared to go police as she feared it would wreck her chances of making it as an actress.
‘It doesn’t matter that he is dead, he still needs to be exposed’, she added.
Winner, who directed more than 30 films during his career, died of liver cancer aged 77 in January 2013.
He was also famous for the car insurance television commercial featuring the catchphrase: ‘Calm down dear!’
Ms Marshall-Day, now 50, claimed Winner had also demanded to see her naked breasts during an audition in 1985.
She told the Sunday People: ‘I was so angry at his audacity. It wasn’t an audition for a nude role, so why would I have to expose myself? I felt so dirty.’
She claimed that when she refused to co-operate Winner’s mood quickly turned and he became ‘pi**ed off’.
She said: ‘He was a horrible, filthy pervert. He preyed on young naive actresses who wanted to earn a living.’
When asked about the allegations Winner’s wife Geraldine, who married him two years before his death, said: ‘I feel any story you print would be untrue. Therefore I have no further comment.’
Mrs Winner was the biggest beneficiary of his legacy, receiving £20 million of his £45 million.
She was left his Holland Park mansion which was sold to pop star Robbie Williams for £17.5 million, a second London home and £5 million cash.
Winner has been accused of being a ‘horrible, filthy pervert’ by actress Cindy Marshall-Day