Extortion charge dropped against Anthony Sayers

The Unsellables co-host Anthony Sayers is no longer charged with extorting a Toronto woman after his private contracting company completed renovations on her downtown home.

The extortion charge against the HGTV Canada reality TV host was dropped Monday during a preliminary hearing at College Park Court in Toronto.

But Sayers, also known as Barrington Anthony Sayers, still faces another three charges ­ two counts for criminal harassment and one for fraud under $5,000 ­ after an apparent dispute with Toronto homeowner Doreen Boulos over renovation work his company completed in February.

Sayers, who was originally arrested by Toronto police on March 12 before being released on bail, was absent from Monday’s court proceeding.

His lawyer, Karen McArthur, told a Toronto judge that crown prosecutors have yet to provide disclosure on the case against Sayers, after police issued a March 14 press release that announced his arrest, included his mugshot, and generated widespread media exposure.

“The damage to a person’s character from an imprudent issue of a press release is far-reaching,” she told the preliminary hearing.

Outside courtroom 505, McArthur told Playback Daily that Sayers had suffered media overkill because he has a sideline gig on TV.

“I think it (TV) made it sexy, because we live in a Charlie Sheen day and age,” she said.

Besides The Unsellables, Sayers was also the featured carpenter on 52 episodes of the W Network series Me, My House and I.

Asked about his state of mind following his high-profile arrest, McArthur said Sayers “is optimistic that the matter will end in his favor.”

Insisting she was representing her client on legal matters, McArthur refused to comment on what impact Sayer¹s arrest will have on his future TV career.

“It’s absurd that this case is a criminal matter,” she added.

A spokesperson for Shaw Media said the broadcaster, which airs the Cineflix Productions series, was aware the extortion charge against Sayers had been dropped.

But Shaw Media withheld additional comment as charges are still pending and the matter is before the courts.

Sayers co-hosts The Unsellables with British property guru Sophie Allsopp.

The Canadian home-flipping reality series has not been in production for a year, even as HGTV Canada continues to air re-runs.

The Unsellables also airs on HGTV in the U.S.

Sayers is next set to return to the College Park courthouse on April 7.