Ed Westwick replaced in BBC's Agatha Christie drama, Ordeal by Innocence, over sexual assault allegations

Los Angeles: Gossip Girl star Ed Westwick, who is facing sexual assault allegations by three women, has been replaced by BBC One on their show Ordeal By Innocence. Actor Christian Cooke will now play Westwick’s role in the Agatha Christie drama series. Reshoots on certain scenes are planned for later this month, reported Entertainment Weekly. [caption id=“attachment_4289371” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] File image of Ed Westwick. AP[/caption] The network, production company Mammoth Screen, and Agatha Christie Limited jointly announced the news after the show’s premiere was initially scrapped. The show has a star-studded cast and the first look was already released with cast members Bill Nighy, Anna Chancellor, Matthew Goode, Eleanor Tomlinson, Anthony Boyle, Luke Treadaway, Morven Christie, Crystal Clarke, Ella Purnell, Alice Eve and Westwick. The show is the first of a planned series of projects to be adapted from Christie’s works. It follows the Argyll family when a man suddenly appears with the knowledge that the black sheep of the clan, Jack Argyll, did not kill their tyrannical matriarch like they all thought. In November, actor Kristina Cohen wrote a Facebook post in which she accused Westwick of raping her at his house three years prior. Two other women former actress Aurlie Wynn and creative producer Rachel Eck came forward with additional accusations. Westwick has denied the allegations. “It is disheartening and sad to me that as a result of two unverified and provably untrue social media claims, there are some in this environment who could ever conclude I have had anything to do with such vile and horrific conduct,” Westwick had said in a statement when the allegations came out. Director Ridley Scott had done a similar thing. When allegations against Kevin Spacey threatened to derail his project All the Money in the World, he replaced the actor and reshot the part with Christopher Plummer.