A judge has ruled that an upcoming court case can deal with allegations that celebrity chef Nigella Lawson used drugs.
The case involves two personal assistants to Lawson and ex-husband Charles Saatchi who are set to go on trial for fraud.
The assistants' lawyers want to introduce allegations that Lawson used drugs at the time. The assistants deny wrongdoing.
Judge Robin Johnson told a pre-trial hearing on Tuesday that Lawson and other witnesses could be questioned about drug use during the trial.
The judge also read an email from Saatchi in which he said his wife abused drugs extensively.
Admitting assault
In July, Saatchi?, a prominent art collector, said he is divorcing Lawson because she did not publicly defend his reputation after images emerged of him grasping the throat of his wife in a posh London restaurant in early June.
Tabloid newspapers published photos of the incident, which Saatchi described as a "playful tiff".
The 70-year-old Saatchi was given a police "caution" after admitting assault.
He told Britain's Mail at the time that he was divorcing Lawson because he has "clearly been a disappointment" to her and because he is disappointed she did not defend him after the incident.
Lawson's spokesperson declined to comment.
The Guardian reported on June 18 that Saatchi said he accepted a police caution for assaulting his wife, because he thought it was "better than the alternative, of this hanging over all of us for months". – Sapa-AP