Stephen Tompkinson trial: Neighbour of former DCI Banks star ‘saw him punch ‘very drunk’ man outside his Whitley Bay home’
A neighbour of British actor Stephen Tompkinson has told a jury she witnessed him slapping and punching a drunk man in the head during an incident outside his home.
Caroline Davidson gave evidence on the second day of the 57-year-old’s trial at Newcastle Crown Court, where he is accused of inflicting grievous bodily harm on Karl Poole in the early hours of 30 May 2021.
Tompkinson, known for starring in TV shows including DCI Banks, Ballykissangel and Drop The Dead Donkey, denies the charge.
On the opening day of the trial, jurors were told Mr Poole suffered traumatic brain injuries as a result of the incident.
He and a friend, Andrew Hall, had been drinking since about midnight and were walking past Tompkinson’s home in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, as they returned to Mr Hall’s house from the beach, the court heard.
Tompkinson went outside at about 5.30am to confront the two men for making noise outside his home, and initially called the police asking for them to be moved on, the court was told by prosecutor Michael Bunch.
On Thursday, the court heard from Mrs Davidson – jurors were told she knew Tompkinson lived at the house across the road but had not spoken to him since he moved in two or three years previously.
Giving her account of what happened, she told jurors she was woken by “hysterical laughter” and looked out of her bedroom window to see two men lying on the floor outside.
They both appeared “very drunk” and were “wobbling” from side to side, she said, and Mr Poole was only wearing boxer shorts.
Tompkinson pictured in 2018
Mrs Davidson told the court she went back to bed but got up again when she heard a voice with a “different tone”.
She could see Tompkinson “using hand movements to ask [the two men] to move away” and at one point “pulled his fist back”, the court heard. However, he put it down “more or less straight away” before walking back towards his house while apparently making a phone call, she said.
The two men then got up with some difficulty, put their arms around each other and “started to try and walk off”, Mrs Davidson said, before her neighbour returned.
“The two males started to turn,” she said. “You could see maybe something was being said. The next thing I knew, the neighbour had stepped forward and he had slapped one of the gentlemen, the one without the top on, with his right hand and then punched him on the head with his left hand.”
‘He didn’t move’
Asked by the prosecutor if anything had “precipitated that action”, Mrs Davidson replied: “No.”
She said she was “100% sure” Tompkinson had moved towards the two men.
Mr Poole “stumbled backwards and fell”, she said. “He just went straight back and his head hit the ground. He just, he didn’t move. He didn’t even put his hands out to stop himself, he just hit the ground.”
Tompkinson came out of his house when the police arrived and spoke to two officers, Mrs Davidson said, and then placed a bottle of Jagermeister at Mr Poole’s feet.
Jurors have previously heard Tompkinson told police he had taken a bottle from the two men.
When asked if either of the two men made any aggressive actions towards the actor at any point, Mrs Davidson responded: “No.”
Second witness gives evidence
Mr Hall also appeared in the witness box on Thursday, telling the court he heard a “cracking” sound when Mr Poole’s head hit the floor.
Asked what Tompkinson did as Mr Poole lay on the ground, Mr Hall replied: “I think he had his phone out but it was clear he wasn’t ringing for help.
“Later on, I don’t know the timescale, he showed a bit of humanity and a bit of remorse in my view, it must have sunk in what happened, but it didn’t initially. I believe he was on his haunches with his hands on his head.”
Jurors have heard Tompkinson told police he pushed Mr Poole away in self-defence.
He denies the charge and the trial continues.
Angelina Jolie says although she appreciates being an artist, she would prefer for her legacy to be “a good mother” and to be known for her “belief in equality and human rights”.
The Oscar-winning actress stars as Maria Callas in the new Pablo Larrain film about the opera singer’s life.
Pic: StudioCanal
She has called Maria “the hardest” and “most challenging” role she has had in her career and put months of preparation into immersing herself into the world of opera.
Jolie, who recently reached a divorce settlement with actor Brad Pitt, told Sky News: “To be very candid, it was the therapy I didn’t realise I needed. I had no idea how much I was holding in and not letting out.
“So, the challenge wasn’t the technical [side of opera], it was an emotional experience to find my voice, to be in my body, to express. You have to give every single part of yourself.”
The biopic combines the voice of the Maleficent actress with recordings of Maria Callas.
Jolie believes it “would be a crime to not have [Callas’] voice through this because, in many ways, she is very present in this film”.
Who was Maria Callas?
Born in New York in 1923, Maria Callas was the daughter of Greek immigrants who moved back to Athens at the age of 13 with her mother and sister.
After enrolling at the Athens Conservatory, she made her professional debut at 17 and went on to become one of the most famous faces of opera, travelling around the world and performing at Covent Garden in London, The Met in New York and La Scala in Milan.
Callas’s final operatic performance took place at Covent Garden in 1965 when she was 41 but she continued to work conducting master classes at Juilliard School, doing concert tours and starring in the 1969 film Medea.
Written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, Maria focuses on the artist’s final years in the 1970s when she moved to Paris and disappeared from public view.
She died on 16 September 1977 at the age of 53.
Pic: StudioCanal
Jolie on changing motivations as an actor
Maria follows the life of an artist fully consumed by the art she creates and even remarks that “happiness never developed a beautiful melody”.
Reflecting on her own life in the spotlight, Jolie said she noticed her own career motivations change over the years.
“There’s this kind of study of being human that we do when we create, and we communicate with an audience because our work is not in isolation – it’s a connection.
“I think when I was younger, I had different questions about being human and different feelings and now as I’ve gotten older, I understand some things and now I have different questions.
“It’s a matter of life, right? And so maybe that’s interesting that this now is a character really contemplating death and really contemplating the toll of certain things in life that I, of course, couldn’t have understood in my 20s”.
Jolie at the New York Film Festival in September with three of her children (L-R) Pax, Zahara and Maddox. Pic: AP
A family affair
Two of Jolie’s children, Maddox and Pax, took on production assistant roles during the filming of Maria and witnessed their mother perform opera for the first time in public.
She says the film allowed them to create new experiences together and for her children to see her approach to playing a difficult role.
“Everyone in my home, we all give each other space to be who we are and we’re all different.
“I’m the mom, but I’m also an artist and a person and so my family has been very kind and gives me their understanding. They make fun of me, and they support me and just as you’d hope it would be.”
She adds: “When you play somebody who is dealing with so much pain, it’s very important to come home to some kindness.”
Maria is in cinemas now.
Tom Holland’s dad has confirmed his son’s engagement to Zendaya – revealing how the 28-year-old meticulously planned the proposal.
Zendaya, also 28, sparked engagement rumours when she attended last Sunday’s Golden Globes wearing a sparkling diamond on her ring finger.
Neither star has publicly addressed the rumours but Tom’s comedian father, Dominic Holland, has now confirmed the pair are set to wed.
He wrote in a post on his Patreon account: “Tom, as you know by now was very incredibly well prepared. He had purchased a ring.
“He had spoken with her father and gained permission to propose to his daughter.”
“Tom had everything planned out… When, where, how, what to say, what to wear,” he added.
Zendaya arrived at the Golden Globes with a noticeable piece of new jewellery. Pic: Invision/AP
Dominic also noted that while most men worry about being able to afford an engagement ring, he suspects his actor son was “more concerned with the stone, its size and clarity, its housing, which jeweller”.
Tom and Zendaya met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, when they played the titular hero and his love interest MJ, respectively. Their romance was confirmed in 2021.
In his post, Tom’s father admitted fears over whether being in the spotlight could put a strain on the couple’s relationship.
He wrote: “I do fret that their combined stardom will amplify their spotlight and the commensurate demands on them and yet they continually confound me by handling everything with aplomb.”
“And even though show business is a messy place for relationships and particularly so for famous couples as they crash and burn in public and are too numerous to mention […] yet somehow right at the same time, I am completely confident they will make a successful union.”
More entertainment news:
Paris Hilton’s home destroyed in fires
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Zendaya rose to fame after landing a role in Disney sitcom Shake It Up, and became a household name after starring in Euphoria.
Holland – who has starred in three Spider-Man films opposite his now-fiancée – made his stage debut in Billy Elliot the Musical in 2008.
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