Chris Dawson has pleaded not guilty to murdering his former wife Lynette Dawson.

The one-time rugby league player and teacher was charged in December over the disappearance of his then wife Lynette from Sydney’s northern beaches in 1982.

His case has become widely known following an investigation by journalist Hedley Thomas for The Australian’s popular podcast The Teacher’s Pet.

Dawson’s lawyer Greg Walsh formally entered a plea of not guilty on Thursday at Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court.  

Walsh said the sheer amount of material linked to the case has slowed down the process. 

“Both the crown and defence are dealing with a large amount of material,” he said.

“Two days ago, 1,900 pages of material was disclosed by Mr Thomas and every effort is being made to peruse and analyse that material.”

The podcast has divulged a significant amount of information related to the case, which has brought unprecedented issues for the court. Walsh said this could lead to a “risk of contamination” in the legal proceedings.

“This is almost uncharted waters,” said deputy chief magistrate Michael Allen, as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald.

Walsh said The Australian’s publishers agreed to remove a “large amount of material that is part of the prosecution brief” on Wednesday.

The case is set to return to court on August 8.

The Teacher’s Pet podcast has been downloaded more than 28 million times globally since its release in May 2018.