A SCOTS comedian appeared in court today charged with rape.
Hardeep Singh Kohli, 56, is further accused of an offence under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act.
Kohli made no plea to the two charges at a private hearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court.
He was committed for further examination and released on bail by Sheriff Bernard Ablett.
Kohli’s next court appearance is to be determined.
Kohli is a BBC comedian as well as a presenter and chef who has appeared on several shows, including Celebrity Big Brother.
He first joined the BBC Scotland graduate production trainee scheme and later appeared as a reporter on The One Show and as a contributor on Question Time.
Kohli was also the director of the BAFTA-winning children‘s show It’ll Never Work and presented other shows on BBC Radio 4.
He has also written for broadsheet newspapers and performed stand-up comedy, including at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Kohli starred on Celebrity Big Brother, entering the house in August 2018, but was evicted after going up against psychic Sally Morgan in the live vote.
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In 2004, he starred in Channel 4‘s Meet the Magoons, and he reached the final of Celebrity MasterChef in 2006.
This soon led to presenting New British Kitchen with John Torode.
Other TV appearances include a celebrity edition of The Apprentice, The Wright Stuff, and he also hosted CBBC game show Get 100.
Kohli was a prominent supporter of the Yes Scotland campaign in the lead-up to the 2014 Scottish independence referendum and later joined the SNP in November 2014.
In a 2012 newspaper column, he announced his support for former first minister Alex Salmond, writing: “If anyone can make the people of Scotland believe, it will be Alex Salmond.
“He has dragged the party from disarray and despair to power and prominence.
“Given what he has achieved since 2004, he’d probably manage for Scotland to win the World Cup.”
Kohli was born in London but moved to Glasgow at the age of four and now has two children.
His Sikh parents immigrated to the UK from India in the 1960s.
