Disgraced Greek actor Petros Filippidis has been charged with one count of rape and two counts of attempted rape following accusations by three different women who worked with him professionally in the past.

The allegations were made by three actresses – Anna Maria Haralambous, Penelope Anastasopoulou and Lena Drosaki – and concern an incident of alleged rape in 2008 and two more attempted rape allegations dating back to 2010 and 2014.

The actresses had initially appealed to the disciplinary board of the Association of Greek Actors, and their testimonies formed the basis of the current legal case against the accused actor.

Mr Fillippidis has denied all charges.

The indictments against him were issued following an investigation into the allegations and testimonies by the actresses and Mr Filippidis.

On Tuesday, he was held at  the Greek Police Headquarters in Athens, and is being transferred to jail on Wednesday.

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Many prominent film, cinema and theatre organisations have dropped the comedian from future shows as a result of the accusations.

The allegations emerged following Greek Olympian Sofia Bekatorou’s decision to speak up about an alleged sexual assault she faced while preparing for the Olympics. This move spearheaded a number of accusations against prominent figures, including Greek actor George Kimoulis, who is recognised as one of the country’s finest actors.

Actresses complained about abuse they faced, including one stating that she was hit during a performance.

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In February, prominent actor and former head of the Greek National Theatre was arrested on charges of rape against underage boys following years of whispers within the community about Mr Lignadis’ actions.

Mr Lignadis is being held in southern Greece.