Stephen Tompkinson: GBH case could have been sorted sooner

Stephen Tompkinson was cleared of inflicting GBH earlier this month at Newcastle Crown Court

Actor Stephen Tompkinson has said an accusation of grievous bodily harm that saw him stand trial should have been dealt with quicker.

Speaking on ITV's Lorraine show after he was cleared of the charge, the 57-year-old said police "were trying to prove a punch that never happened".

The DCI Banks star was accused of hitting a drunk man, who fell to the ground and broke his skull in 2021.

He was found not guilty at Newcastle Crown Court earlier this month.

Recalling the incident in which he found two drunk men outside his home in the early hours of 30 May 2021, the actor said it "could have been investigated a lot sooner and dealt with there and then rather than waiting two years".

He was cleared by a jury that deliberated for just under two hours.

'Had to be investigated'

The actor told host Lorraine Kelly: "You have to wonder, 'was it worth bringing [to court]?'.

He said he "knew I hadn't done anything wrong" before describing the men he confronted as "in a heck of a state".

The Ballykissangel actor recalled: "They didn't seem to be horrible in any way.

"They were just carrying on - we've all been drunk now and again."

He added: "I just thought if I asked them to move on and showed them [on his phone] that I'd called the police but then they turned a bit nasty.

"I stopped one of them with my open palm [but] because of the state he was in he took a tumble and fell... smacking the back of his head and got a very serious brain injury.

"That had to be investigated."

But, he told Kelly, prosecutors "were trying to prove a punch that never happened".

"There was no evidence on my hand, on the guy's face," the actor said.

"He was just incredibly drunk and he fell."

The actor praised his friend Jessica Johnson as a source of strength throughout his ordeal

He credited his Educating Rita co-star Jessica Johnson as inspiring him to get through the ordeal after she experienced trauma of her own.

"Jess was amazing," he said.

"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 56mph killing them instantly."

Ion Nicu Onut killed three people when he drove into the traffic queue on the A1(M) in July 2021.

He was jailed for almost nine years after the court heard he had been looking at dating sites on his phone for about 40 minutes before the crash.

The pair had been performing the play at the time and because it had been "stopped a couple of times" during Covid, Ms Johnson decided to continue performing."She went into this incredible mode," he said.

"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.