Nigel Lythgoe steps down as So You Think You Can Dance judge

British television executive Nigel Lythgoe has announced he is stepping aside as a judge on So You Think You Can Dance following allegations of sexual assault.

He is being sued by singer Paula Abdul and by two former contestants of the talent show All American Girl in a separate suit, US media report.

Lythgoe has denied Abdul's allegations, saying he was "shocked" by them.

The 74-year-old was an executive producer of Pop Idol and American Idol.

He has also acted as an on-screen judge on several talent programmes himself, including So You Think You Can Dance, which he co-created and first began airing in 2005.

"I have informed the producers of So You Think You Can Dance of my decision to step back from participating in this year's series," Lythgoe said in a statement.

"I did so with a heavy heart but entirely voluntarily because this great programme has always been about dance and dancers, and that's where its focus needs to remain. In the meantime, I am dedicating myself to clearing my name and restoring my reputation."

The 18th season of So You Think You Can Dance is due to begin in March.

Fox - the network that broadcasts the show - as well as its producers, have said in a statement quoted by US media that this will go ahead without Lythgoe.

Lythgoe was also a producer of All American Girl, a talent competition which aired for one series in 2003.

He has not been named in the court documents regarding the legal action of the show's former contestants, which have been seen by the BBC.

However, US media say they have verified it is him.

According to the documents, the two women claim he would repeatedly turn up in their dressing rooms and "openly swatted and groped" their bottoms while they were wearing dance costumes.

The women also allege that Lythgoe took both of them back to his home in Los Angeles following a party after the show's finale, where he is said to have made unwanted sexual advances on them.

One woman says he "engulfed her in his sweater" and tried to kiss her, which she rejected.

The other alleges he pinned her against a grand piano and tried to force his tongue into her mouth.

Both women, who have filed the suit anonymously, are suing him for alleged sexual assault and battery, sexual harassment, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The TV mogul is also being sued by Abdul, who claims the alleged assaults happened while the pair worked together on American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance.

Lythgoe was an executive producer of the singing competition and a co-judge on the dancing programme.

Abdul alleges the first instance of assault occurred during one of the "initial seasons" of American Idol in the early 2000s, according to court documents seen by the BBC.

The lawsuit claims Lythgoe assaulted her in an elevator while on the road during regional auditions for the popular talent programme.

She was able to escape from her boss when the doors opened, and she immediately informed her representatives from her hotel room, the lawsuit says.

The next occurred over a decade later, Abdul claims, during what documents say she thought was a professional meeting at his home.

She claims he forced himself on her, and told her they would make an excellent "power couple", to which she responded by pushing him off and explaining that she was not interested in his advances.

That same year, Abdul claims she witnessed Lythgoe assault one of her assistants during the filming of So You Think You Can Dance in Las Vegas.

The lawsuit also claims Lythgoe "taunted" her by calling her and saying the pair should celebrate because it had been "seven years and the statute of limitations had run".

In a statement to US media last week, Lythgoe insisted the relationship between the two had always been one of "dear - and entirely platonic - friends and colleagues".

"I learned of these claims in the press and I want to be clear: not only are they false, they are deeply offensive to me and to everything I stand for," he said. "I can promise that I will fight this appalling smear with everything I have."

Additional reporting by Culture reporter Noor Nanji