Comedian Mark Lamarr has had the charges of common assault and false imprisonment recently brought against him dropped.

The former ‘Never Mind The Buzzcocks’ presenter had been scheduled to appear in court for a hearing on Tuesday morning, although the CPS confirmed that the complainant had chosen not to pursue the case.

A spokesperson for the CPS told The Guardian: “We have a duty to keep cases under continuing review and, following a further review of this case, we concluded that there was insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.” 

Lamarr was released on unconditional bail on 1 September, after being charged over the alleged incident.

Born Mark Jones, Lamarr was a regular on TV screens in the 1990s, rising to fame as the host of ‘The Word’, before working as an outdoor presenter on ‘The Big Breakfast’.  

However, he is probably best known for hosting music quiz show ‘Never Mind the Buzzcocks’ from 1996 to 2005, before Simon Amstell succeeded him as presenter.

Following Amstell’s departure from the show after three years, a string of guest presenters took over, until eventually Rhod Gilbert took over as host for the final series in 2014.

Lamarr was also a team captain on Vic and Bob’s comedy panel show ‘Shooting Stars’ between 1995 and 1997.

He presented a weekly late-night BBC Radio 2 show and specialist music series ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’ for 12 years until 2010.

In more recent years, he has stepped out of the limelight, writing film scripts and working as a music producer.