Peter Andre has spoken out about of the “death threats” that formed part of the breakdown of his relationship with TV producer Neville Hendricks.

The 42-year-old singer, who is due to be on honeymoon with new wife Emily, has been called as a witness at the High Court by ITV2 Limited in its contract dispute with Mr Hendricks.

Peter Andre and Claire Powell
Peter Andre and Claire Powell (Yui Mok/PA)

Mr Hendricks is suing ITV2 for £549,060 damages and costs after it called a halt to him producing its reality shows in August 2011, but the cable channel says he was in breach of contract and is claiming £261,951 from his Mr H TV Ltd.

Mr Andre told Mr Justice Flaux in London today that his friend of 20 years and manager, Claire Powell, had a relationship with Mr Hendricks from 2004 which broke down in 2010.

For a time Mr Hendricks had worked with her on his management and his company produced some series of his reality show.

He said he was extremely grateful for Mr Hendricks’s help with some tax difficulties in 2004 and in the wake of his split from Katie Price in 2009, but the last time he spoke to him was in May 2011.

Peter Andre and ex-wife Katie Price
Peter Andre and ex-wife Katie Price (Yui Mok/PA)

On that occasion, Mr Hendricks was “absolutely fuming” because he thought Ms Powell was sleeping with someone else.

Mr Andre said that he was told at some point by Ms Powell that Mr Hendricks had told a mutual friend that he was going to kill her, her new partner, and Mr Andre’s road manager – and ruin the singer’s career.

Mr Andre said that, from 2004, Hendricks had a tendency to lose his temper and make threats, but things spiralled out of control from May 2011 when he was in a “rage”.

“I’d heard him say things before. I knew he could be hot and volatile and cool down afterwards, but this is the first time it felt real.

“Of course we had some good times but that doesn’t take away from the fact that this threat felt different.

Amy Childs and Claire Powell
Claire Powell also looks after Amy Childs (Ian West/PA)

“Claire was literally shaking when she was telling me and I believed that threat had been made.”

Mr Andre said he was “shocked and appalled” but did not at this time say he could not work with Mr Hendricks, as his mind was taken up with filming.

“I had just gone through a horrific divorce and, at the start, Neville was there with me and saw what I was going through – and I’m now having a problem with the very person who was supporting me, so I was completely upset about what was going on around us.”

Although Mr Hendricks was not on set filming very often, said Andre, he was always on the phone and a lot of people were “petrified” of him.

The singer said that their relationship “of trust and confidence” broke down from July 2011 when Hendricks repeatedly posted offensive tweets about him and the police became involved.

“Had nothing or anything been said before, the moment those tweets started, that was a game-changer for me.

“Yes, he’d done the threats and we were hoping they would work things out between them but when he started doing these vile abusive things publicly for anyone to see – and not once did I reply – at that point what I felt was beyond horrific and I could never want to work with that man ever again.”

Mr Andre said that it was “100 percent not correct” that Ms Powell’s strategy, after he split from Ms Price, was to “demonise” his ex and make him look good.

He said he had no involvement in editing the shows for which, the court heard, he was paid £30,000 per episode.

Ms Powell was always in his corner in that respect until, according to her, she was cut out of the process, which he was worried about.

He said he understood that some of the reasons that ITV2 terminated its contract with Mr Hendricks’s company were because of the way he was treating himself and Ms Powell, the effect this had on him and the delay it was causing to the production of the show.

“I am not a lawyer, and I do not pretend to know exactly when you can and cannot end a contract with somebody.

“However, Neville’s behaviour had become so bad that I no longer trusted him to be near Claire or my family.

“In particular, I did not trust him not to become aggressive towards Claire or other people in a situation where my children could have seen or heard him.”

He said that, if Mr Hendricks’s company had remained the producer for “The Next Chapter”, the show would not have been made because he would not have felt able to participate in it.

“There had already been a delay to filming starting because of the whole saga, and if ITV2 had not ended the contract with Neville’s company, the delay would have become permanent.”

The hearing was adjourned until tomorrow when Mr Andre will continue his evidence.