TV make-up artist 'killed for exposing love-cheat husband'

David Chenery-Wickens, 51, allegedly had the "clearest motive and the obvious opportunity" to kill wife Diane, who had worked on television shows Dead Ringers, The League Of Gentlemen and Casualty.

Chenery-Wickens is said to have murdered Diane, 48, on 22 January last year after she found out he had been cheating on her with other women and dialling a premium-rate gay sex chatline.

Lewes crown court heard he spun a series of elaborate lies to Mrs Chenery-Wickens and others about many aspects of his life over many years. When his double life faced exposure, Chenery-Wickens murdered Diane and concealed her corpse in a country lane near the cottage they shared in Duddleswell, East Sussex, it is alleged.

He reported her missing to the Metropolitan Police two days after the killing.

Chenery-Wickens told officers she vanished while in London after they had travelled up together from East Grinstead station so she could attend a meeting at the BBC.

He then spun a web of lies about her disappearance to her family and the police to make it appear as if she had vanished of her own accord, the jury was told. Chenery-Wickens denies murder.

Opening the Crown's case, prosecutor Philip Katz, QC, said: "The veil was lifting from Diane's eyes and he had the clearest motive and the obvious opportunity to get rid of his wife. We say that he was solely concerned with himself."

Mrs Chenery-Wickens's decomposed body was found by a dog walker in Little Horsted, near Uckfield, last May.

Mr Katz said that the state of her remains meant that the prosecution was unable to say how, when and exactly where she was killed.

"But it's clearly murder," he said. "And the evidence points to it having happened on the evening of January 22, 2008."

Mr Katz said that in the early evening of 22 January, Mrs Chenery-Wickens was alone at their cottage when she noticed some mystery telephone numbers on their shared bill. Chenery-Wickens was at the time helping out at a small volunteer-run steam railway called the Lavender Line in Isfield, a short distance from their home.

Mrs Chenery-Wickens dialled one of the numbers and was connected to the voicemail of a woman with whom the prosecution alleged Chenery-Wickens was having an affair, the court heard.

She did not speak to the woman but dialled a second number which turned out to be a gay sex chatline, Mr Katz told jurors. He added: "No doubt when the defendant returned home shortly afterwards there was some sort of confrontation.

"The Crown says the defendant -rather than see his deceitful life fall to pieces - killed Diane, his wife."

The case continues.