A star of Channel 4’s Amazing Spaces has been accused of rape and sexual assault, it has been reported.
James Catling, 32, allegedly attacked a woman at an upmarket pub in Great Tew, Oxfordshire, in September 2022.
He appeared at Oxford Magistrates’ Court yesterday afternoon after being charged with one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault last month, according to The Sun.
Catling was arrested the day after the alleged attack but was released under investigation.
His court appearance comes just two weeks after he starred on an episode of long-running property show Amazing Spaces on April 15.
Host George Clarke was left speechless by Catling’s renovation of his rare Airstream campervan and described it as the best he had ever seen.
It remains unclear when the programme was filmed, or whether Catling told Channel 4 that he had been charged with the offences when it aired.
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Channel 4.
Wearing black trousers and a chequered shirt, Catling spoke only to confirm his name, age and address in court yesterday.
James Catling, 32, (pictured on Amazing Spaces) allegedly attacked a woman at an upmarket pub in Great Tew, Oxfordshire, in September 2022
George Clarke was left speechless by the ‘best’ campervan renovation he’d ever seen on Amazing Spaces. Pictured: The campervan after renovation
Catling appeared at Oxford Magistrates’ Court yesterday afternoon after being charged with one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault last month
He was released on bail and is due to appear at Oxford Crown Court in May.
It was revealed on the show that Catling left his job as a property developer in 2019 to pursue his stream of restoring Airstream silver bullet campervans in Oxfordshire.
Before appearing on the programme, he had flown to Boston in the hope of claiming one of the most priceless models of them all – a 1947 Airstream, currently the seventh oldest in the world.
His find was incredibly rare – with original Airstream signs on the back and front, only used in the first few years of their production.
But battered and lacking in its famous shine, the prized find needed hours of work and ‘deep pockets’ to restore to its original state.
The episode witnessed James polishing the metal to make it look brand new, adding 800 new rivets and new panels, all while staying within his £40,000 budget.
And when George returned to see the final result at the end of the episode, he was simply blown away.
When George Clarke visited at the start of the programme, there was a lot of work to be done
Catling’s Airstream camper which featured on the show is pictured before he began renovations
George Clarke gasped that the interior of Catling’s campervan even resembled a ‘luxury private jet’
‘This looks absolutely amazing,’ he said, adding it was ‘the best’ he’d ever seen ‘without a shadow of a doubt’.
Airstream is an American brand of travel trailer, known for their polished aluminum surfaces.
They have been staples of the camper van industry since they were founded by Wally Byam in the late 1920s.
