Craig McLachlan has stepped down from his role in the stage musical Rocky Horror Show in the wake of allegations that he sexually assaulted and bullied female cast members.

The 52-year-old Australian actor has denied accusations from former colleagues Erika Heynatz, Christie Whelan Browne and Angela Scundi, published by the ABC and Fairfax on Monday, that he exposed himself to them or sexually assaulted them during their time performing in the Australian stage version of the cult film in 2014.

The Rocky Horror Show was remounted for a tour of Adelaide on 28 December , and is scheduled to tour to Brisbane and Perth in the coming months.

The Gordon Frost Organisation issued a statement on Monday afternoon saying the company was “shocked” to learn of the allegations against McLachlan and that the two parties have “mutually agreed that it is not appropriate for him to continue in the current production of the show”.

“We will be conducting a full internal investigation and will cooperate fully with authorities,” the statement said.

The company also sought to clarify reports that it had been told of the allegations but had not acted upon them. “We were not aware of any details of these allegations until they were published in the media today. We received correspondence from a law firm shortly before Christmas however this contained no details of the claims or the claimants. The response from our lawyers was based on this lack of information and was not in any way directed at the women who have come forward and made these allegations,” the company said.

Whelan Browne, Scundi and Heynatz say they alerted the production company to McLachlan’s behaviour at the time – with Whelan Browne saying she informed GFO’s managing director John Frost directly of her concerns – but that their complaints went unheeded.



McLachlan has described the allegations as “baseless” and “made up”. Victoria police have confirmed they are investigating.

McLachlan’s role in the television series The Doctor Blake Mysteries is also under a cloud. A representative from Channel Seven, which airs the show, told Mumbrella it was seeking an “urgent update” from December Media, the producers of the program.

Representatives for McLachlan and December Media have been approached for comment.

The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance has announced a forum to be held early this year with state theatre companies, to agree on a set of policies and procedures to deal with allegations of sexual harassment, assault and bullying.