Ex-Shameless star Jody Latham has been cleared of harassing a former contestant of The Apprentice.

Latham, 33, who played Lip Gallagher in the Channel 4 drama, was said to have caused alarm or distress with a series of threats to IT firm boss Adam Hosker, 34, who appeared alongside Katie Hopkins during Series 3 of the BBC show in 2007.

It was alleged Latham, who has also appeared in EastEnders, made threatening phone calls and tweets to Hosker between March and May this year after he learned he had met up with his ex-girlfriend.

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Giving evidence last week at Manchester Magistrates' Court, Hosker said Sarah Byrne - who has a child with Latham - came to his apartment for a drink in March this year.

Ms Byrne left the flat following a phone conversation and he later saw her having an argument with Latham outside before both departed, he said.

A "frantic and upset" Latham returned to his apartment the next day, said Hosker, in a "strange visit" in which he was told not to tell anyone the actor had been there and "things would be OK".

Hosker obtained Latham's phone number from Ms Byrne and he explained to him he was not in a relationship with her, the court heard.

Weeks later he received a tweet from Latham's official account which said "chubby face DM me" and later another tweet which read: "DM or call or its getting said in here".

Later in April, Hosker said Latham accused him over the phone of stealing his girlfriend and they needed to meet otherwise "things would end badly".

Ms Byrne contacted police following the alleged conversation, the court heard.

Hosker described to the court being "very anxious" and in fear for his safety if Latham turned up at his apartment.

After Latham was arrested, he gave a prepared statement in which he denied harassing, intimidating or threatening Hosker.

He accepted there had been contact between the pair as he was concerned about his daughter but said Hosker had never asked him to stop contacting him.

Representing himself at trial, Latham said he knew nothing about the tweets said to have been sent and he believed his account had been hacked or it was a fake account.

He said the April telephone conversation was "unpleasant" with Hosker discussing tweets he did not know anything about and he told Hosker to stop contacting him or he would go to the police.

Latham said he made no threats during the call made by Hosker and that a text subsequently sent by Hosker could be read as threatening to him.

In reaching his verdict on Thursday, District Judge Sam Goozee told the defendant: "I have found both you and Adam Hosker gave persuasive evidence but there are aspects of both your evidence which causes me some concern as to whether the whole true picture of what occurred between you both has actually been told."

The judge concluded it was "hard to believe" anyone other than Latham sent the tweets from his account but they were "not particularly aggressive or threatening".

He said the "true nature" of the phone call between the pair remained unclear to him but he noted that despite the "apparent menacing nature" of the conversation Hosker then immediately sent Latham a lengthy text message which was not replied to.

Two unanswered phone calls from Latham to Hosker the following month indicated "there appeared to be some unfinished business between you both", said Judge Goozee.

He continued: "However, assessing the weight and credibility of the evidence in this case it appears to me that a feuding relationship developed based on perceived jealousy and mistrust.

"The evidence set out before me is a pattern of irritation, frustration, annoyance and upset which has elements of unattractive and unreasonable undertones between two professional and successful individuals. Some of the contact was initiated by Adam Hosker himself in circumstances where you would have expected someone to leave things alone and let sleeping dogs lie.

"I am unclear whether the cumulative effects have caused anxiety or distress in a targeted way or whether that has been exaggerated ...Overall the evidence presented appears piecemeal in terms of any course of conduct when balanced against Adam Hosker's own contact with you during the relevant period."

Latham was found guilty, though, of possessing a quantity of cannabis at his apartment in Manchester.

Police found a small amount of cannabis in a glass jar in the flat's kitchen when he was arrested.

Latham claimed it belonged to a flatmate but the arresting officer explained there was no evidence of anyone else living there.

Judge Goozee gave him a 12-month conditional discharge for the drugs offence and ordered him to pay prosecution costs of £200 and a court surcharge of £20.

Latham indicated he would appeal against the drugs conviction.

In 2012, he was handed a 12-month sentence, suspended for two years, after he pleaded guilty at Burnley Crown Court to growing cannabis at a former girlfriend's home.