A former dancer with Top Of The Pops troupe Pan's People has told a court that DJ Dave Lee Travis was a "big pussycat" and she "absolutely never" witnessed him doing anything inappropriate on the show.

Patricia "Dee Dee" Wilde, who was a regular on Top Of The Pops in the 1960s and 1970s, described him as an "absolute professional" and a "lovely man".

Ms Wilde said that as young, female dancers they always had plenty of male attention, but would "slap down" anyone who approached them that they didn't want to.

She said: "We were in the most enviable position because we met every single pop star going and all the DJs. It was just the most wonderful, wonderful job for a young girl to have." But she said they never had any problems with Travis.

She told Southwark Crown Court that when she first met him, before she joined Top Of The Pops, she thought "what a lovely man he was".

She said: "He is a big bear of a man. If he came up and gave you a cuddle you felt very safe with him, unlike other DJs. He is actually a big pussycat."

Travis, from Buckinghamshire, is appearing in court under his birth name David Griffin. He is charged with 13 counts of indecent assault between 1976 and 2003, and one count of sexual assault. He denies all the charges.

Ms Wilde said another big name DJ made them feel very uncomfortable, adding: "It was very different in those days. Things that were acceptable then are not acceptable now."

When quizzed about former Top Of The Pops host Jimmy Savile, she said: "I didn't like Jimmy Savile at all, he was very creepy. As a woman I didn't feel comfortable in his presence."

She said Savile would approach women quite close, "would pick up your hand and kiss it and lick it at the same time".

Travis, wearing a grey suit, white shirt and patterned red and white tie, listened to the proceedings in the dock with the aid of earphones.

Ms Wilde, dressed in all-black with leopard print high heels and a red scarf, told the court she was part of Pan's People from 1966 to 1975.

The group performed dances for songs by American artists unable to appear on Top Of The Pops and worked "52 weeks a year" during their time on the show.

She described Travis as a "consummate professional" adding: "Dave was one of the most gentle men and the nicest of all the DJs that appeared," she said.

Ms Wilde told the court that DJs who appeared on Top Of The Pops were "stars in their own right" just like the pop groups of the day.

She told the court "never once" did she hear complaints about Travis's behaviour. She said any complaints of inappropriate conduct would have "spread like wildfire", such as a "DJ already mentioned" and a director/producer she refused to name.

The trial continues.