On the fifth day of his trial for 12 charges of child sex abuse, Eleanor Laws QC, prosecuting, put it to the 48-year-old that he "pushed the limits" with the youngster before "it became a little bit more sinister".

Ms Laws said: "Not that you were not ashamed about this but you could not stop it."

Le Vell, who has starred in the ITV1 soap for 30 years, replied: "It never happened."

Ms Laws continued: "You started to say things to her? Talk to her, say things like 'It's OK'. This was grooming.

"It became a little bit more sinister after a while."

Le Vell replied: "No."

Ms Laws said: "Rubbing up her leg?"

Le Vell replied: "Definitely not."

Ms Laws went on: "Rubbing her, 'I'm just getting rid of the evil'."

Le Vell: "No."

Ms Laws said: "And it moved on to you making her touch your penis?"

"No, not at all," replied Le Vell.

Ms Laws said: "Then it moved on to touching her intimately?"

Le Vell replied: "No."

Ms Laws said: "You started to rape her?"

Le Vell said: "No."

Ms Laws: "She just lay there, didn't she?"

Le Vell: "No, because it didn't happen.

Reporter David Crabtree was following one exchange with a prosecution lawyer at Manchester Crown Court."The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, claims Le Vell repeatedly sexually assaulted and raped her, once while she was clutching a teddy bear.

The alleged offences relate to one complainant and are said to have taken place between September 2002 and September 2010.

Later the prosecutor said: "The problem was she was not doing anything. She was not resisting. There was nothing to stop you, except yourself."

Le Vell said: "It didn't start to stop anything."

As he continued to give his version of events, Ms Laws said: "Are you making this up as you go along?"

He said: "No, this is fact."

Le Vell, whose real name is Michael Turner, denies five counts of rape, three of indecent assault, two counts of sexual activity with a child and two of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

Earlier he told the jury that the "little dark secrets" he had discussed with someone last year were a reference to a number of one-night stands and an affair rather than the allegations.

Closing arguments will take place in the trial on Monday.