While it’s long been known that drinking alcohol can lead to all manner of questionable behavior, usually of the confrontational variety, EastEnders star Jessie Wallace allegedly took things far outside of the norm over the weekend. The UK actress was arrested early on the morning of Sunday, June 19, after she was allegedly kicked out of a nightclub for being loud and offensive. At some point after police got involved, she reportedly drove her knee up into the groin of one cop, swearing at him in the process, which is what landed her in handcuffs. Though the charges were later dropped, with the TV star apologizing for her actions, viewers took to social media to express being gobsmacked over the fact that Wallace still has her job on EastEnders.The BBC did put out a statement after the fact, but it’s not entirely clear where things will land going forward.
With The Sun reporting that BBC higher-ups were in conversations the next day regarding Wallace’s future on EastEnders, the corporation released a statement (via MailOnline) that played things right down the middle. The statement said:
Senior bosses have spoken to Jessie Wallace about the incident and issued a clear warning that this kind of behaviour is unacceptable. Jessie has expressed her deep regret.
Clearly, it doesn’t sound like anyone at the BBC is rushing to put Jessie Wallace out of a job for her alleged drunken actions, which will certainly spark some anger amongst those clamoring for her to bear legitimate responsibility. After footage surfaced of the incident, with Jessie Wallace’s rude behavior and disobedience on full display to viewers, it presumably only became easier for fans to justify wanting the star to be fired from the long-running British TV staple.
Here’s a rundown of how things allegedly played out. Jessie Wallace spent the early part of Saturday at a Madness concert at Thetford Forest, along with her new bodybuilding boyfriend, and she was seen posing for pictures with fans. Later that evening, Wallace was out and about in Suffolk at the nightclub Flex, where she was said to be acting very drunk and disorderly with other customers. After being booted from the establishment, she engaged in what one witness dubbed “five minutes of carnage.”
Wallace allegedly kneed a Suffolk police officer in the groin, causing him to fall to his knees, coupled with telling the cops to “fuck off” and calling one of them a “fat cunt.” She was arrested at this point, and wasn’t exactly calm about it, before she was put into a police van. WItnesses claimed she was also banging on the door to the vehicle after being locked inside. However, despite everything that went down, Suffolk Police released her without charge, only giving her a conditional caution.
As mentioned above, fans took to Twitter to complain about the lack of consequences being enforced, with many echoing the comments of this user.
- If a famous male actor did this to a female police officer?
Others weren’t afraid to post about past (alleged) instances involving the BBC star, pointing to a pattern of reckless behavior, as it goes with this tweet.
- ‘Hellraising’ Jessie Wallace’s latest public meltdown reminds of time at an awards dowhen she hurled insults and a drink at me and demanded my removal from the ‘VIP’ room before being told by security she’d actually stumbled into the Press room and it was her who’d have to leave.
An early indicator came in the early 2000s when Jessie Wallace was banned from driving for three years after her second drunk driving offense. At the time, she claimed someone laced her wine with vodka, but that assertion was rejected in court. And this wasn’t even the first time she was filmed on a profanity-laden rant after being booted out of a nightclub, as there’s video footage from 2017 showing some pretty similar behavior. It should also be noted that Wallace has been critical of police in the past for allegedly failing to investigate the mugging of her daughter Tallulah in 2018.
At this point, it’s unknown how things will shake out, but it doesn’t appear as if the BBC is rushing to pull Wallace out of her long-held starring role. For everyone waiting to hear more here in the U.S., head to our 2022 TV premiere schedule to see when new and returning shows will be popping up soon.