Amber Heard likely to attend court hearing in Johnny Depp case

Johnny Depp's lawyers have failed to convince a UK court to stop his former wife Amber Heard from appearing in a case the actor filed against a tabloid for calling him "wife beater".

According to reports, Depp's lawyers approached the court on Friday with a plea that Heard be excluded from the trial until she gave evidence.

They argued that her evidence would be more reliable if she was not present in court when Depp was being cross-examined.

Judge Justice Nicol dismissed their application, saying excluding the actress from the hearing would inhibit the defendants in the conduct of their defense.

He added: “She (Ms. Heard) will not be in a position to give instructions to (NGN’s lawyers), but she can provide information on which the defendants may choose to act."

The trial is due to start on Tuesday after a last-ditch attempt to throw the case out of court by NGN’s legal team was refused earlier this week.