Former EastEnders actress Katie Jarvis has pled guilty to common assault and racially aggravated harassment following an incident in Essex in 2020.
The 30-year-old actress, who played Hayley Slater in the BBC soap from 2018 to 2019, had previously denied the two offenses, which are said to have taken place in Southend-on-Sea on July 31, 2020.
The East London native changed her pleas to guilty at Basildon Crown Court on Tuesday, which was the first day of her trial.
EastEnders star Katie Jarvis arrives at court over 'racist brawl' trialhttps://t.co/4hSmHAtekA pic.twitter.com/sDWUFtJrQW
— Mirror Celeb (@MirrorCeleb) April 19, 2022
The racially aggravated harassment was reportedly against Michelle Antonio and others, and Katie admitted to yelling “black lives don’t matter” at them during the Essex seaside bust-up.
The mother-of-two also admitted to the charge of common assault when she spat towards pub worker Toby Groom.
Prosecutors did not go into too many details, other than confirming the common assault related to a “spitting incident.”
Judge Samantha Leigh is running the trial and granted unconditional bail to Katie. She is set to return to court on Wednesday to be sentenced.
A former EastEnders actress has admitted racially aggravated harassment and common assault following an incident in Essex. Katie Jarvis had previously denied the two offences, which are said to have happened in Southend-on-Sea on the 31st of July 2020. #Essex #HeartNews pic.twitter.com/bnnd41I8CR
— Heart News East (@HeartNewsEast) April 19, 2022
The judge said there had been CCTV-captured footage of the incident, which had been “unpleasant” but did not give Katie any indication of the sentence she would be serving.
Patrick Heart, defending, said the sentencing would hear statements from Katie’s family members.
Sentencing will be based on the two counts Katie pled guilty to.
