Stephen Tompkinson calls Educating Rita co-star ‘shining light’ throughout GBH trial
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ritish actor Stephen Tompkinson has described his Educating Rita co-star Jessica Johnson as a “shining light” who sorted him throughout his grievous bodily hurt investigation and trial.
The DCI Banks star was accused of punching a drunk man within the head, who fell to the bottom and broke his cranium, after discovering him and a buddy ingesting and making noise on the backside of his driveway within the early hours of May 30 2021.
The 57-year-old was cleared by a jury of inflicting GBH earlier this month at Newcastle Crown Court.
On Friday, he appeared on ITV’s Lorraine in his first televised interview because the trial, recalling the incident which he mentioned “could have been investigated a lot sooner and dealt with there and then rather than waiting two years”.
He credited his Educating Rita co-star Johnson as inspiring him to get by means of the ordeal along with her robust perspective after she skilled a traumatic incident.
“Jess was amazing,” he mentioned. “And frankly, my problems went into a top hat six weeks later when Jess’s parents were sitting in stationary traffic in Durham.
“A lorry driver behind them, who we then found out was sexting on his phone on an adult dating hook-up site, didn’t see the traffic, hadn’t stopped and ploughed into them at 56 miles an hour killing them instantly, and the driver of the car in front, and injured people in other vehicles.”
Lorry driver Ion Onut was jailed for eight years and 10 months at Durham Crown Court final July after admitting three counts of inflicting loss of life by harmful driving.
Tompkinson defined that he and Johnson had been performing Educating Rita on the time and since it had been “stopped a couple of times” throughout Covid, Johnson determined to proceed performing.
He mentioned: “She went into this incredible mode, I don’t know how she did it and a few weeks later attended the double funeral of her mum, stepdad and was then back on stage that night in Kingston-upon-Thames.
“So if you ever needed an example of strength and a shining light, she has been that throughout and looked after me through this.”
“I’ll never be able to thank her enough,” he added.
Tompkinson mentioned she had additionally helped him within the run-up to the tour of his new play Stumped, which can see him star as playwright Samuel Beckett, serving to him get “the flow with the dialogue”.
Earlier this month a jury discovered the actor not responsible of inflicting grievous bodily hurt after deliberating for slightly below two hours.
Tompkinson instructed chat present host Lorraine Kelly: “You have to wonder was it worth bringing (to court).
“They were trying to prove a punch that never happened. There was no evidence on my hand, on the guy’s face. He was just incredibly drunk and he fell.”
Lorraine airs weekdays at 9am on ITV1 and ITVX.