Scott Wolf has accused his estranged wife of making "deeply disturbing and entirely false" allegations about him.

Scott told People magazine in a statement: "[My] continued hope is to have this most difficult chapter of our family's lives remain as private as possible, however, the well being of my children is at stake, and that will always be my priority.

"There are some significant challenges that are making our situation incredibly difficult and contentious, and it is tragic for all involved.

"I was informed of some deeply disturbing and entirely false allegations that were made about me by my estranged wife."

In text messages seen by the outlet, Kelley,48, appeared to have warned Scott she planned to "make claims" against him, "such as psychological abuse, child abuse, child endangerment, stealing with passports."

She went on to call police on 26 July and made a number of such allegations, which Scott alleged she did to "gain an advantage" in their divorce.

He said: "I am now choosing to come forward and share that she has described to me her plans to 'make claims' about me, although she also admitted, 'I do not believe they're true,' in order to gain an advantage in what she sees as a 'battle' in court, and in the court of public opinion.

"In order to protect my kids, I am providing the text messages she sent to me where she describes this plan, so there are no questions about her intentions, or the malicious intent behind her false allegations made and/or planned for the future."

In the messages, Kelley claimed she "was advised to make claims that are possible, even though I do not believe they're true nor would I ever say them to anyone."

She is said to have added, "when you accused me of all the things you put in the restraining order, you made me into a villain. The only way I can fight back is to produce claims that are either the same as yours or greater" and had decided to act in order to "create more urgency to get the kids back. Or at least get back joint custody."

Scott, 57, said in his statement: "Although her claims are completely baseless and incredibly dangerous, the worst part is that they are traumatic for our children. I hope that anyone who might speak publicly or report on such things, will consider this before spreading any further information from a clearly unreliable and completely compromised source.

"I continue to ask for privacy and respect for our family, and give thanks all those who have shown their love and support."

Kelley insisted she didn't "believe" Scott would abuse their children but had "done everything strategic" to attempt to regain custody of her kids after losing "everything".

She said: "I will be very clear when I say this: I don't believe that Scott would [abuse our children].

"I've lost my career, my reputation, my children, my integrity, my honour, my devotion to my marriage. As a parent, I have literally lost everything except my life. I've done everything strategic, and I'm hopeful for my children."

Days after news of the former couple's split was announced, Kelly was admitted to hospital under an involuntary 5150 hold - which is described as "a critical intervention used to detain individuals who are considered a danger to themselves or others or are gravely disabled due to a mental disorder" - but was discharged days later and insisted she was "fine".