Bargain Hunt auctioneer Charles Hanson cleared of assaulting wife

Charles Hanson, the Bargain Hunt auctioneer, has been unanimously cleared of assaulting his wife.

A jury at Derby Crown Court found the television presenter not guilty of coercive control and assault allegations against his wife, Rebecca, following a three-week trial.

The court heard allegations that Hanson put his wife in a headlock while she was pregnant, repeatedly “grabbed” her, locked her in a hotel room, pushed her and scratched her as she tried to snatch a mobile phone.

The prosecution claimed WhatsApp messages sent by Hanson, 46, to his wife amounted to a “set of confessions” to the charges.

Hanson – who has also appeared on TV shows including Flog It! and Antiques Road Trip – denied charges of controlling or coercive behaviour between 2015 and 2023, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assault by beating.

He smiled at his parents and gave a thumbs-up gesture from the dock after the jury foreman returned the not guilty verdicts.

The auctioneer’s parents, who were sitting in the front row of the public gallery, wept and hugged their son after he was discharged.

Judge Martin Hurst told Hanson: “You have been found not guilty. That is the end of the case. You will hear no more about it and you are free to go.”

Hanson previously told the court that he was “almost a slave” to his wife, who left him “a beaten and broken man” by controlling him.

Stephen Kemp, prosecuting, had alleged that the account given to the court by Hanson “stretched credulity beyond any reasonable limit”.

Sasha Wass KC, Hanson’s lawyer, claimed that Mrs Hanson “was not controlled in any sense of the word” and was instead unstable and unhappy and “felt resentful and hard done by” because of her husband’s work commitments before their marriage “imploded” in 2023.

Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom, Hanson said: “I’m delighted that after a year and a half the truth has finally come out.

“I can finally live my life again. I feel this burden has finally been lifted.

“It has been a tormentous time and all I want now is to readjust to what has been such an ordeal. I am so relieved that this is all over.”

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