EastEnders actor arrested by cops on set over ‘indecent assault' as shocked stars including Adam Woodyatt watch on
Stars had been filming scenes when cameras stopped rolling after a woman complained a fellow extra, a man in his 50s, had tried to forcibly snog her.
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Security rushed to grab the man which is said to have triggered a scuffle.
He was eventually handed over to police at Elstree Studios, Hertfordshire.
The man was held on suspicion of indecent assault of the female extra, and of common assault against a separate person — understood to be linked to the commotion escorting him away.
He remains on bail while the complaint is investigated.
Filming then resumed following a lengthy break, during which the woman was looked after by staff from the BBC soap.
A source told The Sun on Sunday: 'In all the years of filming EastEnders nothing this dramatic has happened — with police turning up at the studios.
'Everyone was quite shaken up by it all. No one could quite believe what was happening.
'The main focus was the woman's welfare as she was clearly very distressed.
'Obviously filming had to be stopped while the incident was dealt with by production managers and security.
"It got very heated when the man squared up to the security staff as they tried to calm things.
Actor arrested on set of hit TV show Rivals in front of shocked crew moments after filming scene with star Danny Dyer
'Eventually he was questioned and taken away by police.'
Hertfordshire Police said in a statement: 'We can confirm we did receive a report of an incident that took place in Eldon Avenue, Borehamwood on Wednesday May 7.
'The suspect, a man aged in his 50s, was arrested on suspicion of common assault and sexual assault in relation to two victims.
'He is on police bail whilst enquiries continue.'
'Extremely difficult situation'
The soap's longest-serving star Adam, 57, who plays Ian Beale, was one of those who had been filming on set when the alleged indecent assault took place.
Other stars of the soap, filming just yards from the Queen Vic pub, were also said to be present.
It is understood the cameras did not capture footage of the alleged attack.
The soap is filmed several weeks in advance of episodes showing on BBC1. It is not known if the scenes from May 7 have been screened yet.
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The source added: 'Filming was actually going on in the fictional Albert Square set at the time the woman made her complaint.
'She was working as an extra, as was the alleged assailant.
'She complained that he had tried to kiss her without her consent.
'Everyone involved in the production, including the cast and crew, acted very responsibly in an extremely difficult situation.
" Adam Woodyatt was one of the star names who were involved in filming at the time.
'They had to look after the woman while also reporting it to the police who turned up at the studios and arrested the man.'
Directors ordered a lengthy break before the shaken actors and crew could resume filming.
Crew members were said to be grateful to bosses for their 'professionalism and understanding' in how it was handled.
Last night EastEnders said in a statement: 'While we would never comment on individuals, EastEnders has on-site security and well-established procedures in place to safeguard the safety and welfare of everyone who works on the show.'
Adam appeared in the soap's first episode in 1985.
He also played a major role in the show's 40th anniversary episodes this February when his fictional wife Cindy's Christmas Day attacker was revealed.
The couple have been reunited after he took a break from the soap in 2021 to appear in I'm A Celebrity and a touring theatre play.
When Adam returned to Albert Square, his character Ian was reunited with his presumed dead wife Cindy (Michelle Collins), who was revealed to have been in witness protection.
Throughout his long tenure in the soap's fictional Walford, Ian has been married six times to five women and had two failed engagements.
He has also fathered three children and acted as a father figure to much younger half-brother Ben Mitchell.
Last month we exclusively revealed an extra was arrested on the set of Disney+ drama Rivals an hour after he filmed a scene with Danny Dyer.
Nigel Adams, 45, was led away by cops in handcuffs from the set at Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, accused of assaulting his then ex-girlfriend.
He was charged and appeared at Bristol crown court last Monday but the case was dropped after the alleged victim declined to give evidence.
In another case of an on-set arrest, Vanilla Ice — real name Robert Van Winkle — was held on suspicion of burglary during filming of reality TV show The Vanilla Ice Project in Florida in 2015.
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They take another taxi later that morning from Colchester to High Street North in East Ham, east London, where CCTV shows Marten appearing to cradle the child beneath her unzipped jacket. Gordon buys a buggy in Argos while Marten waits at a table in a German doner kebab shop. With Victoria in the buggy, they take a taxi from East Ham to Whitechapel. Gordon goes to another Argos store, buying a two-person tent and camping bedding, including a children's unicorn sleeping bag. Shortly after midnight, they get in a taxi in east London carrying Argos bags and a Lidl bag. They are dropped off in Green Lanes in Haringey, north London - although they had wanted to go seven miles further, to the Enfield Tesco Extra. Taxi driver Abdirisakh Mohamud said he became "suspicious" and "uncomfortable" and decided to end the journey early. "The more I thought about it, the more concerned I felt about the baby," he added. 8 JANUARY They take another £475 taxi from Allison Road, Haringey, to Newhaven ferry port in East Sussex on 8 January, having initially asked to be taken to Portsmouth. Taxi driver Hasan Guzel described hearing "meowing" noises during the journey and at first thought they came from a pet. "I could see it was a baby, I could see the noise was coming from a baby. I thought, why didn't she tell me about this, it's been nearly four hours we have been travelling," he said. Mr Guzel said when he dropped them in Newhaven just before 5am, it was cold and dark and he was "concerned as to what they were going to do next". Marten bought snacks and petrol with cash from a Texaco petrol station in the early hours of 9 January. Three days after their first visit to the Texaco petrol station, Marten returns on 12 January and buys Haribo sweets, Mini Cheddars, matches, bottles of water and a filled glass bottle of petrol, paying in cash. The trail then goes cold until sightings in Brighton almost a month later. Marten has claimed that during this time before the sightings, the couple took multiple trips to Brighton to buy food, recounting one memory of the pair eating food on the beach. On 31 January, a £10,000 reward is offered by the Metropolitan Police for information leading to the family being found safe. 27 FEBRUARY - ARREST There are several sightings of Marten and Gordon before they are arrested on 27 February. Gordon is seen on 16 February coming out of a blue tent pitched in woodland on the South Downs. A witness said it was about -2C and "not camping weather". The couple are later seen looking "dishevelled, a bit dirty" near Hollingbury Golf Course, with Marten pushing a buggy. Marten and Gordon are then seen on Coldean Lane, Brighton, on 18 February, with a witness saying he thought there was a child under Marten's coat. There is another sighting of the couple on 19 February when a blue tent was spotted near Stony Mere Way in Stanmer Park, Brighton. A witness noticed a "mum with baby" and the child was "very pale". The baby was in a sling and her head was "wobbling" and "floppy", the witness said. "I do think that baby had died. It was dead." 'Where's your child?' Police Sergeant Robert Button The couple are seen on CCTV trying and failing to break into Hollingbury Golf Course on 20 February and "scavenging for food from the bins". On 27 February, Marten and Gordon are spotted by a member of the public - who recognised them from media reports - at Mulberrys convenience store on Hollingbury Place in Brighton, where they are buying food and using the cash point. Just after 9.30pm, the witness calls 999 and six minutes later, police arrive. By that time, the pair were on neighbouring Stanmer Villas, where they were detained. An officer's bodycam footage shows Marten being told she is under arrest for child neglect, to which she replied: "For doing what?" She was then asked by officers: "Where's your child? Where's your child? Sorry, where is your child, we need to know?" to which she did not respond. A dog handler then asks her: "Tell me now because I'm going to send the dog into the wood to try and find someone so you tell me where it is now." Marten was then further arrested for concealment of the birth of a child, which she is heard saying was "not an arrestable offence", adding: "You can't arrest someone for hiding a pregnancy." 'I'm not going to make you a sandwich' PC Matthew Colburn PC Matthew Colburn helped handcuff Gordon and asked repeatedly where the child was and whether she was alive, as he continued to demand food and drink. He was given ginger beer, chicken and crisps, before asking for mayonnaise, saying he did not want to talk and asked why finding the baby was the "bigger deal". "I'm not going to make you a sandwich, we've got a child to find," PC Colburn was heard replying on body-worn video. "We need to potentially save a life. That's the number one priority. It may not be your priority, but it's everyone else's priority." The next day, the couple are further arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. 1 MARCH - BODY FOUND Police launch a large-scale search for the missing newborn, using a helicopter, sniffer dogs, thermal imaging cameras, and drones. More than 200 officers search an area of 90 square miles, including the golf course, Wild Park Local Nature Reserve and allotments. They scour woodland and ponds and search every shed at the Roedale Valley Allotments near where the couple were arrested, forcing entry to outbuildings where necessary. Police find the remains of the baby in a disused allotment shed on 1 March. Later, her name is revealed to be Victoria. When the body was found, it was not initially possible to determine the baby's gender, and police said the child may have been dead for "several weeks". The dead child was discovered stuffed inside a Lidl carrier bag among rubbish including a Budweiser beer can, Coke cans, several pages of The Sun newspaper and an egg sandwich package. At the post-mortem examination, the cause of death was "unascertained". Dr Nat Cary told the court Victoria was wearing just a nappy and had signs of "significant decomposition" when he examined her. Asked to consider possible reasons for her death, he raised possible causes - including cold, co-sleeping or breathing being obstructed - but said "none of that is provable". The court heard from a paediatric consultant that Victoria could have been two, four or six weeks old at the time of death. HOW DID VICTORIA DIE? "I have never had a case before where I don't know the date the child was born and the date the child died, combined with an unascertained cause of death," says senior crown prosecutor Samantha Yelland. Pathologists found no active cause of death - she hadn't been assaulted - but said Victoria didn't die of natural causes. She was alleged to have been inadequately clothed in a babygrow, while Marten got wet as she carried her daughter underneath her coat. Investigators were able to provide temperatures in the specific area where they were said to be living and prosecutors said the baby died from hypothermia or was smothered while co-sleeping in a "flimsy" tent. Ms Yelland said Marten and Gordon "love their children" but "think about themselves and what they want" over the safety of their kids. She said they "should have known that that was a serious risk of death as a result of their actions, but they just thought that what they were doing was better". Both trials were hampered by disruption and delays and while giving evidence the second time, Marten dramatically revealed Gordon's "violent rape conviction", which the jury were not supposed to be told about. She then parted with her 15th barrister, but was still represented by junior counsel, while Gordon decided to represent himself, questioning his partner in an extraordinary courtroom cross-examination. Gordon described Victoria's death as a "tragic incident" and said he and his partner had been "hounded" and "traumatised" after losing four children to the care system. "I say the baby passed due to unintended circumstances," he said. "I say the parents had a difficult time and there is an aspect of mental challenge going on here." 'We did everything we could to protect her' Constance Marten Weeping in the witness box, Gordon said they had been treated like "monsters" and dragged through mud like "scum" over what happened. Marten said she awoke to find Victoria was dead on 9 January after their first night sleeping in a tent, which was intended to be a "pit stop" to avoid "prying eyes" for a day or two before renting a cottage or travelling abroad. She said Victoria died after she fell asleep over her, telling the jury she "blacked out" and was "flopped forward" with her head on floor. Marten wept as she said she would "turn back time" if she knew her daughter, their "number one priority" was in danger but "we did everything we could to protect her." Marten said she has found Victoria's death "very difficult to live with" but that it "wasn't due to neglect in any way". "If I had a crystal ball and I could see into the future what would happen to Victoria because of my exhaustion then of course I would have preferred to have made different choices, but we did what we could in the moment to keep her with her parents and to protect her," she said. Retired social worker Andrew Reece believes social services and other agencies did everything they could, but Marten and Gordon had the ways and means of evading professionals. "This couple were hell-bent on evading everyone concerned because they didn't want their child to be removed," he says. "It's extremely difficult as a social worker in those circumstances." CREDITS: Reporting: Henry Vaughan, home affairs reporter, Josephine Franks, reporter, Ashna Hurynag, news correspondent, Luke Engelen, producer, Victoria Bird, field news editor, and Eve Bennett, producer Digital production: Henry Vaughan, home affairs reporter, and Josephine Franks, reporter Data and forensics: Natasha Muktarsingh, assistant editor Design: Taylor Stuart, designer Pictures: Press Association, Metropolitan Police, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Facebook Editing: David Mercer, assistant editor Top Built with Shorthand
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- The Sun
Three arrested after dad, 24, stabbed to death ‘in front of screaming girlfriend' outside 5* hotel & casino
THREE men have been arrested after a dad was brutally stabbed to death outside of a five-star hotel and casino. Blue Stevens, 24, tragically died after being attacked outside the five-star Park Tower Hotel and Casino in Knightsbridge, London, on Wednesday evening. 5 5 In an update today, the Metropolitan Police said it had now arrested a trio of men, all in their 20s, in connection with Blue's death. One has been detained on suspicion of conspiracy to murder and remains in police custody. Another was arrested on suspicion of murder and has been bailed pending further enquiries. Detective Chief Superintendent Christina Jessah said: 'These arrests mark a significant milestone in this complex and unfolding murder investigation. 'We continue to progress at pace. While we retain an open mind around motive, one line of enquiry is now that this may have been a targeted attack. 'Increased police patrols remain active in and around the Knightsbridge area. Please do speak with an officer if you have any questions or concerns.' Blue tragically died outside the luxury Park Tower Hotel and Casino in the heart of London on Wednesday night. Onlookers watched on in horror as the 24-year-old was stabbed to death in broad daylight while with his partner. It is not clear whether he had been in the casino beforehand but emergency crews were seen going into and out of the building on Wednesday evening. Cops launched their murder investigation yesterday as countless tributes were paid to the dad, including from his partner and his devastated mum Charlie Sheridan. Man in his 30s dies after being stabbed outside casino on posh London street The heartbroken parent said: "He lit up my heart every time I laid eyes on him. My only son. I lived for him. "I can't stop crying. I can't breathe. "Please. I want him back." She also posted an image on Facebook with the quote: "Everyone in your life will have a last day with you, and you won't even know when it will be. "Cherish them before it's too late." Witnesses say Blue's partner returned to the scene yesterday to leave a touching tribute to her lover. She wrote in a card nestled amongst a large number of floral tributes: "To My Blue. We are all absolutely devastated without you. "You took a piece of my heart with you. A part of me has gone with you. I love you more than absolutely anyone in this world. "My boy forever and always." Some witnesses said Blue was violently confronted by a man who was attempting to rob him. Sam, 55, who was staying at the hotel, told The Sun: "I saw the guy on the floor and they were trying to revive him. There were about 10 cars, police, medics everything. "I saw them reviving the guy, it's scary. It was night, he was on the floor you could only see him from a distance. "The doorman said it was a robbery - apparently they grabbed his bag and ran away. "The streets were full and all of a sudden someone comes along and stabs someone." Blue, understood to be from Yateley in Surrey, is believed to have driven to Knightsbridge in a white BMW, Metro reported. He parked just 50 yards away from the crime scene and is believed to have been returning to his motor when he was suddenly attacked. Other members of Blue's family, as well as his friends, paid tribute yesterday, praising him for being a "great dad" who would "help anyone out". One of Blue's cousins also confirmed he had a passion for wrist watches - when prompted on whether Blue may have died as a result of a botched robbery of his timepiece. Detectives had said they were pursuing lines of enquiry that Blue's death may have come as part of a robbery, although this has yet to be confirmed. HOTEL 'SADDENED' BY TRAGIC DEATH A spokesperson for the Park Tower Hotel said: "We are very saddened by this incident that occurred on the street adjacent to our hotel. "Our thoughts are with the victim's family at this difficult time. "We can confirm that the incident did not involve any of our hotel guests or staff. "We are fully cooperating with the authorities as they investigate this matter. "As this is an active investigation, all inquiries should be directed to the Metropolitan Police." BCU Commander Christina Jessah said: "Our thoughts remain with Blue's loved ones following this tragic incident and they continue to be supported by specialist officers. They have asked for their privacy as they come to terms with Blue's death. "We are working at pace to establish the exact circumstances and advise people avoid speculating while we continue our enquiries. "We understand the impact this incident has had on the local community and local businesses. "That is why we have increased the number of police on patrol in the area and I encourage the public to speak to them if they have any questions or concerns."
