Reg Traviss thought he could embark on a relationship with the woman he is accused of raping.

The 35-year-old filmmaker insisted to Southwark Crown Court yesterday (12.12.12) he had barely been out since the death of fiancee Amy Winehouse in July 2011 so had enjoyed getting ''merrily drunk'' with the female friend on December 30, 2011 before they went back to his London home and had what he said was consensual sex.

Asked by defence QC Ian Winter if he thought he could have a relationship with the woman, he told the court: ''I sort of came away from that evening thinking this could be really good, this could be the start of something.

''I wasn't looking for a girlfriend but she is somebody I have known for a long time and that there could be something in this.''

The filmmaker denies two counts of rape, claiming the 27-year-old woman had seduced him by inviting him to bed at his home and had made no objections to having sex.

He said: ''There is no truth in this allegation whatsoever.''

The next day, he repaid her £25 she had spent on drinks and kissed her goodbye after walking her to a nearby London Underground train station and made arrangements to see her that night.

When he did not hear back from her weeks later, after she had gone to meet a man in New York, he thought she may have found someone else and they would go back to being friends.

He said: ''I thought it's a pity and that she had got together with somebody else or just blown me out, it's a pity.

''I thought we would meet up again and be friends after a certain time had elapsed and just go back to being friends.''

He was then shocked when police contacted him in April informing him of the rape allegation.

Because he was not initially told who had made the allegation, he thought it could have been a stalker inventing a complaint.

The trial continues.