The woman was not named in the stories but was later revealed to be Eryn Jean Norvill,who played King Lear's daughter Cordelia. She did not speak to theTelegraph for its stories.
On Tuesday,the second day of the three-week trial,Mr Rush was asked under cross-examination by the barrister for Nationwide News,Tom Blackburn,SC,about a June 2016 text message he sent Ms Norvill in which he said he was"thinking of you (as I do more than is socially appropriate)".
He signed off"xo Gregarious Raunch",and the court has heard the pair commonly engaged in word play on their names.
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The sentence was punctuated by an emoji of a face with a tongue hanging out,prompting Mr Blackburn to ask:"Is he panting?"
"No,that's the looniest emoji I could find,"Mr Rush replied.
He denied the sentence implied he thought about Ms Norvill"habitually"and said it was a"joke ... in the style of Groucho Marx"intended to reassure her that he hadn't forgotten about her after missing her in the opening night of another play.