Bing's problems just got worse

If Steve Bing thinks all his troubles are over, he should think again.

Just last week, DNA tests proved he was the father of 37-year-old Elizabeth Hurley's son Damian Charles, a development that could cost him a third of his £1 million annual income in child maintenance if the actress chooses to pursue it.

Now it has emerged he is about to be served with a multi-million pound writ by another alleged ex-lover.

A Hollywood actress who claims she dated Bing, 36, for five months after his split with Hurley - acting as his spokeswoman in the mudslinging dispute that was eventually resolved with lab tests last week - has hit him with a law suit worth £10 million.

Bit-part actress Brenda Swanson, 39, says she dated Bing throughout Hurley's pregnancy. Indeed, Swanson was pictured in a warm embrace with Bing at her 39th birthday party last July.

She talked openly to the media, unconditionally sticking up for Bing while the rest of the world labelled him a love-rat. Speaking earlier this year, Swanson said: "Steve feels he's been conned with the oldest trick in the book. [Hurley] told him she was on the Pill. He's convinced the child isn't his - but he's going down fighting. He won't just open his cheque book."

But just a few days later, Swanson claims she was dumped unceremoniously, just like Hurley had been a few months before.

She immediately rubbished Bing in the press, calling him a "callous charmer" who "goes around sleeping with all kinds of women and doesn't seem to care about the repercussions." Bing reacted just as swiftly, saying he had never dated Swanson and that she had made up the relationship in a bid to make money from selling her story to the media. He also tried to sue Swanson for defaming him but dropped the case. Bing told friends he never dated Swanson, though he did have a meeting with her "of a celebratory nature".

Now, still reeling from the news that he is undeniably the father of Hurley's son - which could cost him millions in child maintenance - Swanson's lawyer is to issue a multimillion pound writ against him for publicly defaming her character by calling her a liar.

Swanson confirmed her intention to sue in a statement to the Evening Standard last night, saying: "I can confirm that my lawyer, Perry Wonder, is putting together a case against Steve Bing for defamation of character."

The writ will be served on Bing when he returns to his £3.5 million Los Angeles mansion on Thursday.

A friend of Swanson's added: "[Bing] said they never dated more than once and that she essentially lied about their relationship. News travels fast and that statement made her look a liar and a money-grabber. She is suing him for dragging her name through the dirt."

The friend added: "Brenda has known Steve for over 15 years and his statement has infuriated many of their mutual friends - who are now siding with Brenda."

The suit has come after a long silence between Swanson and Bing. After news that Hurley was pregnant, Swanson said of their relationship: "I am still seeing him but it is very hard with everything that has been going on."

But after Bing dumped her, she went on the offensive, saying: "[ Bing] spent 18 months with [Hurley] and can't even be bothered to comfort her through the pregnancy or the birth. It's not the behaviour of a decent person and he deserves all the abuse he is getting from her friends. I'm surprised he hasn't had this kind of paternity case hit him before now by the way he carries on. I feel so bad for Liz now. He did to me exactly what he did to Liz - stopped speaking when things got tough."

Bing has further problems in the US, where he is at the centre of another paternity case. It is alleged he is the father of four-year-old Kira Kerkorian after having an affair with her mother, former tennis pro Lisa Bonder.

Kira is the subject of the world's most expensive child support case. Las Vegas billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, 84, insists he is not Kira's father, because he is sterile, and he is challenging Miss Bonder's claim for £220,000 a month maintenance. Last month, Bing sued Kerkorian for £3.4 billion for invasion of privacy and trespass, claiming the octogenarian had organised for dental floss from his dustbin to be used to find a DNA sample.