Mel Gibson’s personal, and seemingly ever-widening, downward spiral looks set to reach a new, Yeats-esque intensity as reports have emerged that domestic violence charges against him are “almost inevitable”. Things have been falling apart for Gibson since he slurred his way through that anti-Semitic roadside rant back in 2006, but after a PR-blitz forceful enough to invade Poland it seemed he had clawed his way back into Hollywood’s good graces, with Edge of Darkness released last year to respectable reviews and The Beaver due out in 2011.

But Mel just wanted to be himself, and the charm-offensive came to an abrupt halt in July last year when his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva released tape of a recorded phone call in which he allegedly used some less-than chivalrous words to describe his former love. She also claims in the conversation that he hit her, which brings us to the “last ditch” attempt by Team Mel lawyers to persuade authorities not to slap their client with criminal charges, which, it appears, failed miserably. If convicted, he could face 1 to 4 years in jail.