A MAN who ran Castle Howard, the stately home made famous in two major TV series, has indicated in court that he will plead not guilty to charges of child sex offences.

Simon Howard, 65, from Malton, North Yorkshire, appeared at York Magistrates’ Court today accused of indecent assault and incitement to commit an act of gross indecency in 1984.

Howard ran the North Yorkshire estate, which featured in Brideshead Revisited and the Netflix show Bridgerton, for more than 30 years.

He appeared before District Judge Adrian Lower by video link for the brief hearing.

The court heard that he is charged with one count of indecent assault against an underage girl and another of inciting the same girl to commit an act of gross indecency.

Howard indicated that he would enter not guilty pleas to both counts and District Judge Lower sent the case to York Crown Court.

He told Howard: “The matters you face are too serious to be dealt with at this court and so they will be allocated to the crown court at York and your first appearance there will be on March 15.”

A family statement released last week said Howard strongly denies the charges.

It read: “Simon Howard’s whole family are shocked by these allegations and are fully supportive of SH’s confidence that he is innocent of all charges – which he denies in the strongest possible terms.”

In a statement, the Castle Howard estate said: “Simon Howard is no longer involved with Castle Howard, having stepped down as a director and shareholder five years ago.”