A BBC antiques expert got his wife in a headlock and threw a phone at her as part of a 10-year campaign of violence, a court heard. Auctioneer Charles Hanson, 46, is alleged to have assaulted wife Rebecca once every six months for a decade. Jurors were told she noted down the dates and times of incidents, as well as taking photos of her injuries. Hanson was arrested in June 2023 when police were called to their £1.5m Derbyshire home. The auctioneer, who has appeared on Bargain Hunt and Flog It!, insisted to police that he had never harmed his wife.
But prosecutors told Derby crown court his behaviour caused her “to fear he would use violence against her.”. The couple met in 2008 and wed two years later - with the marriage “starting off happily”. But Stephen Kemp, prosecuting, said: “As time went on, things began to change. “Charles Hanson began, on occasion, to use violence against his wife. The first occasion took place in 2012. Rebecca Hanson estimates that over the next 10 years, he would be violent towards her she estimates approximately every six months or so.
“The violence was never such that she ever felt that she needed to seek medical attention. She is not alleging she ever suffered any broken bones or anything as serious as that. “Rather, it would usually take the form of Mr Hanson grabbing hold of her and doing so with sufficient force so as to often leave marks on her.”. Hanson is charged with controlling or coercive behaviour, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and assault by beating.
Mr Kemp said the first incident took place in 2012 during a row between Hanson and Rebecca at their home, leaving her terrified. He told the hearing: “Rebecca Hanson threw an empty box on the floor. “It was this that seemed to prompt Mr Hanson to run towards her, put his arm around her neck and then put her into a headlock. He held his arm around her neck, under her chin from behind her, for a few seconds before just letting go.
“Rebecca did not lose consciousness, but she was understandably scared and shocked by what her husband had just done to her.” Mr Kemp said it was the “first of many occasions when Mr Hanson would grab hold of his wife in anger”. Jurors were told of another alleged assault in 2015 when Hanson gripped his wife so hard it left three fingertip bruises on her arm. And during the first days of the Covid lockdown in March 2020, he allegedly hurled a phone at his wife while he was in a “bad mood”.
Mr Kemp told the hearing that by April 2021, Rebecca had started to write down the dates of incidents involving her husband. He said that in May 2023, the couple discussed separating. Rebecca sent Hanson a message stating: “I shouldn’t be scared of my husband - they are meant to protect you not hurt you.”. In further messages, Hanson told his wife, ‘Sorry. I just don’t want us to break up.” When she replied, “Then don’t chuck your wife around,” he responded, “I won’t ever again,” the court heard.
