A real-life soap opera came to an end yesterday when a dentist was absolved of professional misconduct for having an affair with a married patient after four years of legal wars waged by the spurned husband.
The battle involving Dr Philip Newsome, 44, his patient Michelle Tomlin and her ex-Cathay pilot husband ended when the dentist was cleared by the Dental Council.
Visits to Dr Newsome's surgery blossomed into something more than bridgework for Mrs Tomlin when she began to confide in the dentist about her marital woes, she told the hearing yesterday.
The 35-year-old French dancer told Dr Newsome that her husband, then Cathay pilot Norman Tomlin, 44, physically abused her.
'I was very ashamed of being abused . . . I was staying in this kind of relationship and I was not proud of it. My husband was abusing me every day. I telephoned [Dr Newsome] just to get the energy and courage to take it,' she said, dabbing tears from her eyes.
Passion overtook the pair in January 1993, the hearing was told. Her husband, who was not present yesterday, saw red and complained to the Dental Council.
After it quashed his plea to have his rival hauled up for misconduct, he took his case to the High Court.