DCI Banks star facing UK trial

British actor Stephen Tompkinson, best known for his roles in Ballykissangel and DCI Banks, has been charged with grievous bodily harm and will stand trial in the UK.

Tompkinson, 56, has been accused of inflicting harm on another man, beating him and leaving him with a double skull fracture during an altercation that took place in May 2021.

A statement from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Stephen Tompkinson, 56, of Beech Grove, Whitley Bay, appeared before Newcastle Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday August 10 to face a single charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm.

“He pleaded not guilty to the charge and will next appear at Newcastle Crown Court on Wednesday September 7.”

After getting his big break in early 1990s comedy Drop the Dead Donkey, winning a British Comedy Award for best TV actor, Tompkinson has featured in Ballykissangel, Wild at Heart and the film Brassed Off.

Between 2010 and 2016, he played the title role in detective drama DCI Banks.

Later this year, he is due to star in The Long Shadow about the Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe – who murdered sex workers in the north of England in a killing spree in the late 1970s.

Source: Deadline, Guardian