COMEDIAN Paul Whitehouse has told a court how he was unhappy about being drawn into a sex case involving his co-scriptwriter Chris Langham.

The Fast Show TV star was giving evidence for the prosecution at Maidstone Crown Court, where Langham, 58, is on trial accused of indecency with a teenage girl and child porn offences.

Langham, of Golford, near Cranbrook, claimed he downloaded the images when researching a paedophile character in the BBC2 comedy Help, written with Whitehouse.

Defence QC David Whitehouse asked Mr Whitehouse: "I suppose it was the police who told you that Chris Langham had dragged your name into this sordid affair? I should think you were pretty furious?"

Mr Whitehouse, 49, replied: "Yes. I was not happy."

The comic read out a statement Langham made to police in which he said: "Again, I don't deny downloading them and these were items I tried to draw to your attention before the search.

"I would just like to point out that Paul Whitehouse was never a party to this."

Said Mr Whitehouse: "They told me that's what he said about me."

Earlier, he was asked by Richard Barraclough QC, prosecuting, whether Langham ever discussed undertaking any research into characters for Help.

He replied: "Not to my knowledge, no."

Mr Whitehouse explained how the BBC asked him and Langham to co-write and star in Help in 2003. Langham played a therapist and Mr Whitehouse played all the patients.

"I had never worked with Mr Langham or met him before 2003," he said. "We met to see if we could develop the series."

Filming began in September 2004 and the first series was broadcast in the spring of 2005. There was then a second series.

Mr Whitehouse said he was ill between June and November 2005 and did not do much writing with Langham during that time. He said he heard in November that year that Langham had been arrested.

Langham denies 10 charges of indecently assaulting a teenage girl between January 8 1996 and April 7 1998, two other serious sexual offences and 15 of making indecent photographs of a child between September and November 2005.

The trial continues.