Bargain Hunt star Charles Hanson left his wife “paralysed with fear” when he attacked her in their marital home, a court heard. Rebecca Hanson said the celebrity auctioneer, 46, violently put her in a headlock when she was pregnant. She told jurors there were “14 or 15” incidents involving arguments or violence during their marriage. Mrs Hanson, who gave evidence from behind a screen, said some of the attacks left her bruised. The antiques expert, who also appeared on Flog It! and Antiques Road Trip, is accused of assaulting her every six months for a decade.
Recalling an alleged incident in 2012, she claimed Hanson reacted angrily when she threw a box at him during a row. “I was pregnant,” she said. “I was in my dressing gown, we were having an argument about something. “I threw a tiny box which landed about two inches in front of him and he went for me. “He just ran towards me straight away. I turned around to protect my stomach, my baby, and he got me around the throat.
"It was tight, with my head back. He was stood behind me. The crook of his elbow was in my throat. “Realistically it lasted probably about four or five seconds but it felt like a minute. “I was absolutely petrified, he was not trying to choke me, he was trying to control me. He was angry. “I froze, paralysed with fear, he was shocked at what he had done, there was no explanation, I could not believe what he had done.”.
Prosecutor Stephen Kemp has asked Mrs Hanson about an incident which happened at their home in 2012 when she was pregnant with a child the couple sadly lost. She said: "Charles had had an operation for testicular cancer and I was pregnant. I was in my dressing gown, we were having an argument about something and I threw a tiny box which landed about two inches in front of him and he went for me and got me around the throat.".
Mr Kemp said: "Where was the crook of his elbow?" The witness replied: "At my throat." Mr Kemp asked: "How long did it last?" Mrs Hanson replied: "Realistically probably about four or five seconds but it felt like a minute. I froze, I was absolutely petrified, he was not trying to choke me but he was angry.". The prosecutor asked: "How did it stop?" Mrs Hanson replied: "I was froze, paralysed with fear, he was shocked at what he had done, there was no explantion, I could not believe what he had done," reports NottinghamLive.
Jurors were told on Monday that Hanson also threw a phone at her as part of the campaign of violence. She noted down the dates and times of incidents, as well as taking photos of her injuries, Derby crown court heard. Mrs Hanson said during one row in 2014 her husband allegedly grabbed her by the arm. She recalled: “What shocked me was that when I looked at my arm, the fingerprints had come through the arms of a thick woolly jumper.”.
Asked how it felt, she replied: “Really painful, it really hurt, Charles left the room and I phoned my dad in floods of tears.”. And asked why she did not call the police, Mrs Hanson said: “When it starts, you hope it is going to end. “He apologises, you think it is going to get better, you have a bit of hope.”. She told jurors their marriage became a “nightmare” during the Covid-19 lockdown, adding: “He got angry a lot.”.
She claimed he once threatened to burn her with embers from their log fire. “I would say over the course of our marriage there were 14 or 15 things against me, all of the same pattern of misbehaviour," she said.“It started off less often at the beginning, every six months or so, but by the end it escalated more often, it definitely got worse.”. Hanson was arrested in June 2023 when police were called to their £1.5m home in Quarndon, Derbys.
The auctioneer, who has appeared on Bargain Hunt and Flog It!, insisted to police that he had never harmed his wife. He denies controlling or coercive behaviour, ABH and assault by beating. The trial continues. “I would say over the course of our marriage there were 14 or 15 things against me, all of the same pattern of misbehaviour," she said. “It started off less often at the beginning, every six months or so, but by the end it escalated more often, it definitely got worse.”.
