The apparent TV confession by William Roache that he had bedded up to 1000 women was not put before the jury in his trial.

The revelations about his womanising past to broadcaster Piers Morgan attracted a huge amount of publicity when the Life Stories interview on ITV was screened in April 2012.

The star explained that his infidelity caused the breakdown of his first marriage to actress Anna Cropper - a period of time in which he was accused of the string of sex offences against young girls of which he has been cleared.

His wild behaviour led fellow stars to dub him C**k Roache and he added to being unable to control his sex drive at the time.

Giving evidence, Roache admitted to being unfaithful but told the jurors those affairs were "infrequent" and he was looking for love at the time and not "gratuitous sex".

Prosecutor Anne Whyte, QC, wanted to question the defendant about the interview and present the relevant sections of it as evidence.

But Mr Justice Holroyde said the tone and the context of the interview with the former newspaper editor was "significant" and it could not be seen as an "accurate" or "reliable" guide to his sexual history.

In the interview, Roache said: "There were plenty of girls around.

"I shouldn't have done it. I didn't have any control over my own sex drive. I didn't have the strength to control it."

He told Morgan he had slept with "more than 100" women and when asked if the number was nearer 1000, he said: "Well, I'm not denying it."