A male escort who claims he was assaulted Boy George asked to be handcuffed by the singer during a pornographic photo shoot, prosecutors have said.

Audun Carlsen claims that the former Culture Club star, whose real name is George O’Dowd, chained him up to a wall in his house in Shoreditch in April last year.

But during cross examination at Snaresbrook Crown Court, Adrian Waterman, prosecuting, said: "During this photo shoot you yourself took handcuffs and asked to put them on."

Mr Carlsen called the prosecutions claims “rubbish” and said he had only agreed to wear the chains as “decor” for the photographs.

The pair first met each other after making contact on the social networking website Gaydar.

So far the court heard how O'Dowd allegedly inundated the escort with emails after suspecting he had hacked his personal computer.

Despite this the pair met again for another photoshoot, in which Mr Carlsen's allegations of assault are said to have taken place.

Yesterday, Carlsen told the court he had sold his story to a Norwegian magazine so that he could flee the UK.

The trial continues.

(by Jason Gregory)