The veteran BBC broadcaster Stuart Hall has appeared in court charged with indecently assaulting a nine-year-old girl 30 years ago.
The 83-year-old, best known for presenting It's a Knockout, is accused of touching the girl in Cheshire in 1983, Preston magistrates court heard on Monday.
He is also accused of sexually abusing another girl, aged 16 or 17, in 1974 in Blackpool and a 13-year-old girl in 1984.
Hall was asked by the court clerk if he understood that he faced three separate charges of indecent assault and if he wanted to enter a plea. He replied: "Yes I do. Not guilty to all three charges."
At the start of the hearing, Hall mistakenly went up to the judge's bench at rather than the dock when his name was called. In the dock, he confirmed his age, his address in Cheshire and his full name, James Stuart Hall. He refused to answer questions from journalists beforehand.
Joanne Cunliffe, prosecuting, said Hall is alleged to have fondled the breast of one girl, then aged 16 or 17, between 1 September 1974 and 31 December 1974 in Blackpool.
On a second occasion he is alleged to have molested a nine-year-old girl, some time between 1 January 1983 and 31 December 1983. The third alleged indecent assault is that he French kissed a 13-year-old girl, on an occasion between 1 July 1984 and 27 September 1984.
None of the alleged victims can be named for legal reasons.
Cunliffe said the case should be sent to crown court because of the serious nature of the charges. The judge Peter Ward said that the first charge, involving the oldest girl, could be tried at the lower court, but agreed to transfer the case as a whole to the crown court.
Hall was granted bail on the condition that he has no unsupervised contact with anyone under 17 and lives at his home in Wilmslow, Cheshire. He is due to appear at Preston crown court on 16 April.
Hall, who was first arrested on 5 December following an investigation by Lancashire police, left the court building followed by TV cameras, photographers and reporters.
After his arrest his solicitor Louise Straw issued a statement saying: "Stuart Hall is innocent of these charges. It is a matter of concern that in the week following the publication of the Leveson report, there appears to have been systematic leaks to the media which have given a misleading impression of what this case is about.
"Stuart Hall was not afforded the opportunity to attend voluntarily at the police station. In due course, the decision that he should be arrested will be the subject of some scrutiny. Stuart Hall is innocent. There will be a trial and his defence will then be in the public domain."
The long-serving broadcaster has been a familiar face and voice in British broadcasting for half a century and was last year awarded an OBE. His eccentric and erudite football match summaries made him a cult figure on BBC Radio 5 Live.
The BBC said Hall would not be working at the corporation while he faced the allegations.