Peter Andre has spoken out about of the 'death threats' that formed part of the breakdown of his relationship with TV producer Neville Hendricks.
The 42-year-old singer, who is due to be on honeymoon with new wife Emily, has been called as a witness at the High Court by ITV2 Limited in its contract dispute with Mr Hendricks.
Mr Hendricks is suing ITV2 for £549,060 damages and costs after it called a halt to him producing its reality shows in August 2011, but the cable channel says he was in breach of contract and is claiming £261,951 from his Mr H TV Ltd.
Mr Andre told Mr Justice Flaux in London today that his friend of 20 years and manager, Claire Powell, had a relationship with Mr Hendricks from 2004 which broke down in 2010.
For a time Mr Hendricks had worked with her on his management and his company produced some series of his reality show.
He said he was extremely grateful for Mr Hendricks’s help with some tax difficulties in 2004 and in the wake of his split from Katie Price in 2009, but the last time he spoke to him was in May 2011.
Peter Andre and Claire Powell (Yui Mok/PA)
On that occasion, Mr Hendricks was 'absolutely fuming' because he thought Ms Powell was sleeping with someone else.
Mr Andre said that he was told at some point by Ms Powell that Mr Hendricks had told a mutual friend that he was going to kill her, her new partner, and Mr Andre’s road manager – and ruin the singer’s career.
Mr Andre said that, from 2004, Hendricks had a tendency to lose his temper and make threats, but things spiralled out of control from May 2011 when he was in a 'rage'.
“I’d heard him say things before. I knew he could be hot and volatile and cool down afterwards, but this is the first time it felt real.
“Of course we had some good times, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that this threat felt different.
Claire Powell also looks after Amy Childs (Ian West/PA)
“Claire was literally shaking when she was telling me and I believed that threat had been made.”
Mr Andre said he was 'shocked and appalled', but did not at this time say he could not work with Mr Hendricks, as his mind was taken up with filming.
“I had just gone through a horrific divorce and, at the start, Neville was there with me and saw what I was going through – and I’m now having a problem with the very person who was supporting me, so I was completely upset about what was going on around us.”
Although Mr Hendricks was not on set filming very often, said Andre, he was always on the phone and a lot of people were 'petrified' of him.
The singer said that their relationship 'of trust and confidence' broke down from July 2011 when Hendricks repeatedly posted offensive tweets about him and the police became involved.
“Had nothing or anything been said before, the moment those tweets started, that was a game-changer for me.
“Yes, he’d done the threats and we were hoping they would work things out between them, but when he started doing these vile abusive things publicly for anyone to see – and not once did I reply – at that point what I felt was beyond horrific and I could never want to work with that man ever again.”
