ACTOR Robert Hughes has denied reports he molested a child co-star on the set of a hit Eighties sitcom.

Earlier, Channel Nine's A Current Affair named the actor, who played the father in the popular comedy series Hey Dad! named Hughes as the actor at the centre of the allegations, the Herald Sun reports.

“I am absolutely shocked and surprised at this allegation," Hughes said.

"I categorically deny the allegation."

It never happened. The entire matter is now in the hands of my lawyers.”

Child star Sarah Monahan told Woman's Day last week that a man who worked on the show had fondled her and exposed himself.

Monahan, who played schoolgirl Jenny Kelly, was six when she began work on Hey Dad!, which aired on the Seven Network from 1987 to 1994.

She told Woman's Day that a man who worked on the show had fondled her and exposed himself, the Herald Sun reported.

Monahan later said there were other other victims among the Hey Dad! cast.

"I guess I was the smallest and I know I wasn't the only one. The others are just still not going to speak about it," she said.

Monahan said she wanted the alleged perpetrator working on the Hey Dad! set to be jailed and "burn in hell".

She said the years of abuse had sent her almost to the brink.

"I remember at school they actually demanded that I have a psychiatrist," she said.

"In art class I could draw perfect penises. And they were like, there's something wrong with this person that she could draw stuff like that at that age.

"I think I was at that point where I was probably suicidal."

She said she knew her molester was a "dirty old man" but said she had been pressured to stay quiet, even years after quitting the show.

She also feared losing her job because she was "paying the rent".

"They say that people don't know. But people knew, and it was always a 'Keep it hushed, because this is the most successful TV show on television - people don't want to know that'," she said.

She said the man often sought her out when she was alone in her dressing room.

"It's not like he raped me, but it was wrong," she said.

She said the abuse began when she was just six. She said she gained the strength to put her foot down only at age 13, resulting in the man "turning mean" and calling her fat and ugly.

Former executive producer Gary Reilly has denied knowledge of the allegations regarding Monahan until they were aired in Woman's Day.

But he said he was aware of rumours about the treatment of a different young actor, and she was given a chaperone.

Police will decide in the next few days whether to launch an investigation.

A New South Wales police spokesman said Monahan, who now lives in the US, had not made a complaint to police.

But she said on A Current Affair that she would be prepared to go to police, as she was "no longer scared".

The police spokesman said he did not believe any other complaints had been lodged about inappropriate sexual conduct on the set. He urged other victims or those with information to come forward.

"My understanding is we need to have a complaint made by an alleged victim," he said.

"Depending on the revelations, we may institute our own investigation."

TV insiders have told the Herald Sun there had been talk for years about a man on the set.

"I heard of this a few years ago," one source said.

"It's no secret this happened. It has been talked about for years."

Monahan has not named the man, or did she say if he was a member of the cast or the crew, but described him variously as "big", "powerful" and "well respected".

