Ricky Gervais has said he is “shocked” and “appalled” after learning of historical sexual misconduct allegations against After Life producer Charlie Hanson.

According to The Times, Hanson has been accused of misconduct by 11 women, with the allegations ranging from between 2008 and 2015.

He “strongly refutes” the allegations made against him.

Ricky Gervais, who wrote, directs and stars in the Netflix smash After Life, said in a statement: “I am shocked and appalled to learn of the historical allegations made by a number of women against Charlie Hanson.

“The decision was made to immediately remove him from production and I am confident the matter is being handled thoroughly.”

Hanson, who also worked on other projects with Gervais such as Derek and Extras, has been removed from his role on the hit Netflix show and suspended by BAFTA as a result of what it calls “a number of very serious detailed allegations”.

A statement from Netflix said: “On Monday, we received an anonymous email containing historical allegations about a producer on one of our titles.

“Whilst the allegations are unrelated to his time on the show, we immediately removed him from the production and referred the matter to the police.”

BAFTA added: “We have been presented with a number of very serious detailed allegations about an individual and while we are not their employer we immediately took the decision to suspend their membership.

Subscribe to the Backstage podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker

“BAFTA is an arts charity and does not have the power to investigate historic claims of abuse therefore we have referred the matter to the police.

“The behaviour that these accounts allege is abhorrent, in complete opposition to BAFTA values and has no place in our industry.”

Hanson has responded to the allegations, and says many of them are “demonstrably false”, adding he has not had any complaints during his time in the industry.

“I categorically reject any wrongdoing on my part, and strongly refute the allegations that have been levelled at me,” he said.

“I have worked with and supported hundreds of men and women during my working life and will do what is necessary to protect and/or restore my reputation. I will also cooperate with any formal inquiries.”

It comes weeks after BAFTA suspended actor and producer Noel Clarke after more than 20 allegations of sexual misconduct and bullying were made against him – claims Clarke “vehemently denies”.

Hanson, a vocal MeToo supporter, had previously criticised BAFTA over its response to the Noel Clarke allegations, saying it should have done more when it was first made aware of the claims.

Related posts:

Lady Gaga offers $500k reward after dog walker shot and pets stolen Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and The Crown actor Ronald Pickup has died aged 80 NSYNC star Lance Bass expecting twins with husband The Tomorrow War, Stephen Dorff and Fear Street Tickets for Peter Kay’s stage comeback sell out in 30 minutes James Bond, Back To The Future and Star Wars memorabilia in £5.5m movie props auction Court set to rule on ending Britney Spears’ father’s control of her life Jimmy Carr says revisiting his mother’s death inspired him to write autobiography Married At First Sight series finale gets new air date after E4 broadcast repeat episode Chart-topping rapper jailed for importing cannabis into UK ‘It’s not okay to use harmful stereotypes’: Little Mix criticise ‘blackfishing’ after Jesy Nelson music video backlash First Mario – now Garfield: The internet reacts to Chris Pratt’s latest role