A JURY took just 90 minutes to clear a former soap actor of raping a 16-year-old Mid Cheshire schoolgirl in Barbados.

Former Emmerdale actor Ben Freeman has expressed his relief and his desire to get back to work after being cleared of raping the teenager.

Freeman, who played mechanic Scott Windsor in the ITV soap, admitted he’d made “bad choices” in his involvement with the girl but said he’d done nothing illegal.

Freeman says his TV career has been on hold while defending the sexual attack allegation – and he’s looking forward to getting back to work.

He says he’s open to offers – including a return to Emmerdale if the script-writers bring him back.

Freeman denied raping the girl after they met at an exclusive holiday resort on the Caribbean island on November 29, 2006.

The 28-year-old actor said the girl didn’t resist his advances when he denied the charge at Bridgetown High Court.

In an interview with ITV’s This Morning, Freeman said he was “glad” it was all over.

He said he was not angry at the girl and blamed himself for making “a lot of bad choices”.