Actor Stephen Tompkinson tells court inflicting GBH would have been 'career suicide'

Actor Stephen Tompkinson has told a court it would be "career suicide" for him to "do something as outrageous as assault someone".

The 57-year-old DCI Banks star, who lived in Whitley Bay on North Tyneside with his wife and young son, is accused of punching a man to the ground who was drunkenly making noise outside his home in the early hours of 30 May 2021.

He denies inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Tompkinson has taken the stand at Newcastle Crown Court to claim he came out of his house at around 5:30am, wearing pyjamas and a dressing gown, after waking up to "strange noises".

He left the property to challenge Mr Poole and his friend Andrew Hall, who were both "heavily intoxicated", one just wearing underpants.

Tompkinson told the court he did not punch Mr Poole and was "not responsible" for the double skull fracture he sustained when his head hit the pavement.

He said he put his hand out to stop Mr Poole coming towards him and made contact with his face but that it "wasn't enough to knock a sober man off his feet".

Jurors were told Tompkinson had gone to drama school in 1984 and his acting career included sitcom Drop the Dead Donkey and the series Ballykissangel.

Tompkinson said he had had acting work "taken away" since being charged with grievous bodily harm, and that while the legal proceedings are hanging over him, "any association with me is put on hold".

"I'm not trying to compare my situation with the injury Karl suffered - they don't compare," he told the court.

Asked by his barrister Nicholas Lumley KC if he had anything to gain by assaulting Mr Poole, Tompkinson said: "Absolutely not. Any member of the public is potentially a member of your audience and you have to treat them with respect at all times.

"After we got 15 million viewers for Ballykissangel my father, who was alive at the time, said: 'You have been invited into people's living rooms and you must always treat them with respect', and I always try to.

"It would be career suicide to do something as outrageous as assault someone."

He told jurors what had happened outside his home, saying he watched the pair attempt to stand up and fall several times, while drinking from a bottle of Jagermeister.

He added he was concerned the bottle would break, because it is where his child liked to practise on the skateboard.

He told the court he had called 999 because he thought they needed assistance home.

Asked if he was angry, Tompkinson said: "I think there was a bit of angriness in there, it was a horrible sight and I certainly didn't want the rest of the household to be greeted by them when they woke up.

"These weren't boys, they were encroaching on middle aged men who shouldn't get into a state where they can't stand."

He added one of the men had sworn at him and the atmosphere "changed".

He said: "It was like, from the moment they started swearing and the moment I could see Karl's eyes coming into focus, the whole atmosphere changed very quickly. I wasn't expecting any trouble and then when it suddenly did turn, or their attitudes changed, then it was a very frightening situation."

Tompkinson said the men got to their feet, unsteadily, and started to move towards him.

He told the court he put his hands on Mr Hall and "guided" him to the ground, then saw Mr Poole coming towards him.

"I didn't want to hurt him, I wanted to stop him to change his mind about coming towards me and further onto my property."

Tompkinson said as he went to make a 'stop' motion, his hand connected with the left side of Mr Poole's face and that he went to the floor because of his "unsteadiness". The court was told Tompkinson still had his phone in his hand after calling 999.

Asked if it would have been possible for him to have made a fist, he said: "Not without breaking my fingers or risking some solid metal going into Karl's face."

Asked in cross-examination why he did not tell police at the scene about the confrontation, Tompkinson said: "I've been involved in enough police procedurals to know there are initial interviews, then there are another set of interviews. I was waiting to get the chance to fully explain."

The trial continues.

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