Actor Stephen Tompkinson in court on GBH charge

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Actor Stephen Tompkinson is appearing in court charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm.

The 56-year-old, best known for starring as Inspector Alan Banks in ITV crime series DCI Banks, is due to appear at Newcastle Crown Court.

The actor, who lives in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, appeared at a hearing before magistrates in the city last month, when he denied the offence, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

Tompkinson became a household name after starring as Father Peter Clifford in 1996’s Ballykissangel.

In the same year, he appeared as Phil in hit film Brassed Off.

Other notable TV credits include Drop The Dead Donkey, Wild At Heart, Minder, New Tricks, Grafters and Ted And Alice.

He was in DCI Banks for six years until the show was axed in 2016.

Later this year, Tompkinson, who recently starred as Frank Bryant in a stage adaptation of Educating Rita, is due to feature in ITV drama The Long Shadow about Yorkshire ripper Peter Sutcliffe.