A 22- year- old student yesterday told a court how she was left "frightened" and "helpless" after "sleazy" former Coronation Street star Christopher Quinten raped her in a nightclub.

The woman said the 48-year-old actor, who played mechanic Brian Tilsley in the ITV soap, used cocaine to entice her to a quiet back room in the 10 Rooms club in central London on June 25 last year.

There he kissed, fondled and eventually raped her despite her continual pleas for him to leave her alone, she told Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court.

Quinten, whose real name is Chris Bell, says he had sex with the woman, who was 21 years old at the time, but insists she consented. He denies rape.

The woman calmly told a jury of seven women and five men that she first met Quinten while celebrating her 21st birthday at Stringfellows nightclub in London.

Quinten, who runs events at nightclubs, bought drinks for her and her friends before later asking for her telephone number in order to invite the group to future parties. She said: "I thought he was very confident, very forward and quite polite though I did think that he was a little bit too easy with us.

"We had only just met but he was very over-friendly, which I thought was a little bit strange."

Asked by Linda Strudwick, prosecuting, to describe his manner further, she replied: "A little bit sleazy, if I am honest."

She added: "I didn't find him sexually attractive in any way. I just saw him as doing me a favour. He was a guy to get myself and my friends some alcohol and free entry into some clubs."

The woman, who said a friend told her that Quinten was once a soap star, said after her first meeting, the actor sent text messages inviting her to events at the 10 Rooms club.

She told the court that on one visit she got the impression that he was "trying it on" by putting his hand on her backside. On the night of the alleged rape she said she went out for dinner with her boyfriend before going to the club with her friends.

She said she was "taken by surprise" when Quinten offered her drugs before taking her to a back room, but still felt safe.

Quinten produced cocaine from his pocket and helped her by making two lines of the drug before passing her a £10 note with which to snort it, she said.

After she had taken the drug, Quinten kissed her and she tried to pull away but he continued, she continued.

"He pulled my head forward and he said 'one small kiss on the lips' and I thought, right, I don't want to make too much of a scene, so I kissed him and then pulled away," she said. "Then he did it again."

She went on to describe how he reached up her skirt and put himself between her legs despite her continual protests. "He was just saying 'come on just a little longer, just a little bit longer' and I was saying no."

When asked by Ms Strudwick how she felt, she said: "Just out of control, just frightened, just helpless." The trial continues.