Veteran broadcaster Stuart Hall in court charged with raping two girls

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Veteran broadcaster Stuart Hall has appeared in court charged with raping two girls.

Hall, 83, is currently serving a 30-month jail term for sexually abusing 13 victims, one as young as nine, over a period of nearly 20 years.

But after he was jailed earlier this year, the new allegations came to light and Hall was charged last month with more historic sexual offences.

Hall, wearing a white shirt, striped black and white tie and black suit, was brought from prison to stand in the dock at Preston Magistrates' Court to face the charges.

During the brief hearing, Hall, flanked by two female prison guards, was asked to identify himself and replied, "I beg your pardon?" as he struggled to hear proceedings.

He gave his name as James Stuart Hall, and asked for his address, gave his home address as Prestbury Road, Wilmslow.

Hall listened as the fresh charges were outlined. No pleas were entered.

The latest claims relate to two alleged victims aged between 11 or 12 and 16 at the time.

He is alleged to have committed seven counts of rape against one girl between 1976 and 1978 in Manchester, when she was aged between 14 and 16.

Hall is also accused of eight counts of rape and one count of indecent assault against his second victim, aged between 11 or 12 and 15 at the time, between 1976 and 1981, at various locations in Greater Manchester and Cheshire.

Hall was remanded into custody until November 29 for a further hearing at Preston Crown Court.

The former It's A Knockout presenter has been stripped of his OBE for broadcasting and charity in the wake of his conviction for sex offences against children.

Hall was initially given a 15-month prison term at Preston Crown Court, but the Court of Appeal ruled that the sentence was "inadequate" and it was doubled in July.

In April, he admitted 14 counts of indecent assault against girls aged between nine and 17 and a reporting ban on his pleas was lifted the following month.

He was a familiar face and voice in British broadcasting for half a century, and his eccentric and erudite football match summaries made him a cult figure on BBC Radio 5 Live.

He also wrote a weekly sport column for the Radio Times until his arrest.

PA