Former EastEnders actor Katie Jarvis admits racially aggravated harassment and assault

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A former EastEnders actress has admitted racially aggravated harassment and common assault following an incident in Essex.

Katie Jarvis, who played Hayley Slater in the BBC soap from 2018 to 2019, had previously denied the two offences, which took place in Southend-on-Sea on 31 July 2020.

The 30-year-old, of Rainham, east London, changed her pleas to guilty at Basildon Crown Court on Tuesday, which was due to be the first day of her trial.

The racially aggravated harassment was against Michelle Antonio and others, while the common assault was of Toby Groom.

Judge Samantha Leigh bailed Jarvis to return to the court on Wednesday to be sentenced.

The actor made her EastEnders debut in 2009 after being cast in the lead role of rebellious teen Mia in the critically acclaimed film Fish Tank.

Jarvis’s portrayal of the role won her a British Independent Film award. The film was also in the running for the Palme d’Or at Cannes in the year it came out.

In 2019, the mother-of-two said she would be taking a “step back from acting.”

Several celebrities rallied in support of Jarvis after reports emerged that she was working as a security guard in a shop after leaving EastEnders.

In an interview with Victoria Derbyshire in October that year, Jarvis said she had felt “degraded”, “really embarrassed” and “quite ashamed” by coverage in tabloid newspapers, which were accused of shaming her over her job.