UK2 min(s) read
Published 11:20 08 May 2026 GMT
One of the UK's first gay dads and his husband have been charged with several serious sexual offences and human trafficking after police carried out raids at multiple properties in Essex.
Reality TV personality Barrie Drewitt-Barlow, 57, and his husband Scott Hutchinson, 32, were arrested as part of an ongoing investigation.
Police officers searched the millionaire businessman’s Essex home, where the couple live together, along with addresses in nearby Braintree and Maldon.
Witnesses reported seeing police vehicles and forensic teams lining the driveway and surrounding country roads near the luxury property in Danbury.
Essex Police confirmed the pair have since been charged with a number of offences, including rape, sexual assault and modern slavery trafficking for sexual exploitation.
The couple are scheduled to appear before Chelmsford Magistrates' Court today.
Detective Inspector Lydia George, who is leading the case, appealed for further information from the public.
Drewitt-Barlow bought non-league football club Maldon & Tiptree FC in February 2022 and had reportedly been preparing to feature in a new ITV documentary about the team.
The programme, titled Up The Jammers — a reference to the club’s nickname — has since been dropped by ITV.
The police said an incident room has now been established as part of the investigation.
Barrie previously made headlines alongside former partner Tony Drewitt-Barlow after becoming known as Britain’s first gay fathers of twins Saffron and Aspen in 1999.
The couple made history after being allowed to list themselves on their children’s birth certificates as “parent one” and “parent two” rather than “mother and father,” in what became a landmark moment for the LGBTQ+ community.
The twins were conceived using eggs donated by Tracie McCune and carried by surrogate Rosalind Bellany. Although both Barrie and Tony biologically fathered one child each, they have never publicly revealed which twin belongs to which father.
Barrie and Tony separated in 2019 after Barrie disclosed that he had begun a relationship with Scott, who had previously dated his daughter Saffron.
Anyone with information is being urged to contact police on 0800 051 4526, or 0207 126 7612 for international callers, or through the Major Incident Public Portal (MIPP).
