EastEnders star accused of shouting 'black lives don't matter' in Southend bust-up arrives at court

An EastEnders star has arrived in court after being accused of shouting “black lives don’t matter” during a heated altercation in Southend.

Katie Jarvis, 30, is accused to have shouted the insult before slapping a child during the incident which occurred back in July 2020.

Jarvis played Hayley Slater in the popular soap between 2018 and 2019.

She has today appeared at Basildon Crown Court charged with racially aggravated harassment, common assault and two counts of assault by beating.

The 30-year-old is alleged to have been involved in an incident at Papillon’s bar on July 31, 2020, at the same time as Black Lives Matter protests continued across the world.

Prosecutors have previously said that the argument involved Jarvis and four other women.

Jarvis denied the four charges at a hearing in May last year, where she only spoke to confirm her personal details.