The Daily Telegraph has appealed the decision in a high-profile defamation case brought against it by Geoffrey Rush, claiming the Federal Court judge who ruled in favour of the Oscar-winner could have appeared biased.

Key points: The Telegraph said it would appeal the decision on 16 grounds

The Telegraph said it would appeal the decision on 16 grounds Mr Rush, who has been awarded an initial $850,000 payment, is set to receive a large amount of compensation

Mr Rush, who has been awarded an initial $850,000 payment, is set to receive a large amount of compensation Court documents lodged during the trial revealed Mr Rush was seeking $25 million in damages

Mr Rush was last month awarded $850,000 in initial damages after he sued the newspaper's publisher, Nationwide News, over stories alleging he behaved inappropriately towards a colleague during a 2015-16 season of King Lear.

His final compensation figure — to be considered this week — is likely to be much higher.

Justice Michael Wigney said the newspaper produced "recklessly irresponsible pieces of sensationalist journalism of the very worst kind".

The Telegraph today said it would appeal the decision on 16 grounds, including that Justice Wigney's conduct "gave rise to an apprehension of bias".

The colleague at the centre of the case was revealed during court proceedings to be Eryn Jean Norvill.

She did not speak to the newspaper for its stories and did not want a formal complaint to be lodged, however she gave evidence as part of the trial.

She played the King's daughter Cordelia to Mr Rush in the lead role.

Ms Norvill alleged in court Mr Rush's inappropriate behaviour included making groping gestures towards her in the rehearsal room, touching the small of her back on the side of stage and tracing the side of her breast one night on stage.

She alleged more senior colleagues witnessed the behaviour but were "complicit" because they did nothing, suggesting this may have been because they were from a different generation.

In his judgment, Justice Wigney said he found Ms Norvill's evidence to be not credible or reliable, and that she was prone to "exaggeration or embellishment"..

The Telegraph cited that criticism as part of its appeal and referred to the general damages awarded as "excessive".

It said Justice Wigney's decision to award special damages on a sliding scale over two years was at odds with the evidence of Mr Rush's agent, Fred Specktor, who told the court he would receive offers at the same rate in about 12 months.

"The primary judge's award of excessive special damages … was not supported by the evidence," the appeal documents, filed today, said.

The Telegraph claimed it was denied procedural fairness for several reasons, including that some witnesses were not allowed to give evidence.

It also argued Justice Wigney erred in awarding special damages on the basis Mr Rush was unable to work due to the emotional effect of the stories, because the case was not pleaded that way.

Ms Norvill made a public statement after Justice Wigney's decision, declaring she had told the truth.

"I know what happened. I was there," she said.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 4 minutes 1 second 4 m 1 s Geoffrey Rush wins defamation case against Daily Telegraph publisher

During the defamation trial Mr Rush's lawyers alleged the stories portrayed him as a pervert and a sexual predator.

Court documents lodged during the trial revealed Mr Rush was seeking more than $25 million in damages.

His lawyers suggested he was earning $128,000 a month before the stories ran and that he may never work again.

Justice Wigney found Nationwide News and journalist Jonathan Moran failed to prove the imputations published in two articles in late 2017 were true.

Justice Wigney said the newspaper and journalist Jonathan Moran failed to research the pieces adequately before publishing.

He agreed with Mr Rush that the two articles published by The Daily Telegraph in November and December 2017 had damaged his reputation.

The first, published on November 30, carried the now infamous front-page image of Mr Rush in his role as King Lear during the Sydney Theatre Company (STC) production.

Justice Wigney said using the image of Mr Rush in character above the headline "KING LEER" was particularly damaging.

"The image was nothing short of striking," he said.

"The effect of the pun in the headline, together with the photograph, was almost alone sufficient to convey that Mr Rush was a man who leered, or looked slyly at people in a lecherous, lewd or licentious manner."