LONDON – Arnold Schwarzenegger edged closer to facing a British libel trial on Wednesday after he failed to block a legal action brought a reporter who alleged the actor-turned-politician sexually assaulted her.

British television host Anna Richardson alleges she was libeled by the California governor and two of his campaign workers in a 2003 article over the assault claim. She says the article, which appeared in the Los Angeles Times, meant she “deliberately and dishonestly fabricated” allegations that the Hollywood star groped her breast during a 2000 interview in a London hotel.

On Wednesday, High Court judge David Eady upheld an earlier ruling that said legal papers could be legally served against Schwarzenegger in the United States and that he was “not peripheral” to the case.

The decision means he could face a libel trial in Britain later this year.

The 57-year-old Austrian-born bodybuilder and star of the blockbuster “Terminator” films was dogged by sex allegations during his campaign to become California governor.