Ex-Geordie Shore cast member denies assaulting woman

A former cast member of the reality show Geordie Shore punched a woman on a night out after getting jealous over an ex-boyfriend, a court heard.

Chantelle Connelly, 27, denies GBH on the 22-year-old she had been talking to in a Newcastle bar in October.

Sarah O'Neill, prosecuting, told Newcastle Magistrates' Court Connelly wasintroduced to the woman by a mutual friend in the VIP area of a bar calledBijoux. She recognised her from the TV show, which she had watched from the start.

They were part of a larger group who had been chatting and dancing together who then moved on to another bar in Stowell Street.

It was in this venue that Connelly changed and "got jealous" about anex-boyfriend called Tommy Sayers, magistrates heard.

Connelly repeatedly asked the woman "if she had gone with Tommy", Ms O'Neill said.

The woman told the court she used to know Mr Sayers when she was 17, but had not seen him since she was 18.

Bouncers saw the disagreement and the woman and two friends left. Before they could get in to Powerhouse nightclub, Connelly turned up outside and grabbed the woman's phone, the court heard.

The complainant told the court: "Chantelle was back in my face shouting 'have you been with Tommy?"'

The alleged victim said Connelly checked her Facebook for evidence of contact with Mr Sayers, but found none.

As the woman and a friend walked off to get a taxi, she said Connelly hit herin the face, knocking her backwards a couple of metres, causing her to fall.

She suffered a split lip, which required three stitches, and a broken wrist.

A friend said her face was covered in blood and the pal was also smeared with it as she tried to help.

The victim was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary by taxi and while there,the mutual friend received eight calls from Connelly, the court heard.

The injury party said: "I said 'are you going to answer?'.

"She (the mutual friend) said 'no'. I said 'just answer, we will see what shehas to say'."

Connelly said she was in Bijoux bar, having earlier been out in her local, theHeaton Hotel.

In the trendy city centre bar where Geordie Shore was filmed, she said she was approached frequently by people wanting pictures.

She then went to a bar called the Cosmic Ballroom where she danced, then took a taxi home. She denied going anywhere near the Power House and flatly denied assaulting the woman.

She said she did not answer police questions when she was interviewed on the advice of her solicitor.

The case was adjourned for a week when the magistrates will hear closingspeeches before deliberating.