Actor Stephen Tompkinson is ‘good under pressure’ and ‘never loses his temper’, a comedy writer told his GBH trial today.
The DCI Banks star is on trial at Newcastle Crown Court accused of inflicting grievous bodily harm on Karl Poole by punching him. The 57-year-old said his career had been ‘put on hold’ as a result of the court case.
Character references from Tompkinson’s colleagues were given to the jury.
Comic Andy Hamilton, a writer on Drop the Dead Donkey comedy series which launched his career, appeared in person.
He said: ‘That show was a real pressure cooker as we had very tight deadlines because we put a lot of topical jokes into the script.
‘Stephen was always the calmest member of the production. We did a whole series when he was ill suffering the after effects of malaria which was quite debilitating.
‘So he had every justification in getting hot under the collar but he was very cool headed, very composed, very calm.
‘I have never see him lose his temper, I cannot remember him being aggressive with anyone.
‘I have seen him be the peacemaker when people have been upset and have seen him step in to calm things down.’
He added: ‘Stephen works pretty much permanently and one of the reasons for that is that people know he is good under pressure.’
Actor Stephen Tompkinson punched a man who fell to the ground and suffered ‘traumatic brain injuries’, a court heard.
The DCI Banks star arrived at court on May 3 to stand trial after pleading not guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm on a man in North Tyneside last year.
Tompkinson stands accused of assaulting Karl Poole on Sunday, May 30, last year in Whitley Bay.
The actor pleaded not guilty when the charge was put to him while his barrister, Adam Birkby, said the issue in the case is self-defence.
Earlier, Tompkinson told jurors he spoke to police on his phone moments after the altercation but made no mention of Mr Poole being motionless on the floor or how he fell.
He said he knew from his experience of police dramas that he would get the chance later to give a full explanation of events.
The actor went back inside his house ‘to take stock of the situation’ but returned again after hearing Mr Poole’s friend Andrew Hall say ‘you’ve killed him.’
In a detailed account of an alleged violent altercation at the end of his driveway, Tompkinson told Newcastle Crown Court ‘it was a very frightening situation’ and he felt ‘threatened and shaken’ by the behaviour of two strangers at 5.30am.
Tompkinson said the habit of not making hard contact has been ‘in bred’ during a long career on stage and screen and that only his palm made contact with Mr Poole and not with any force.
The actor told the court as Mr Poole moved towards him ‘I didn’t want to hurt him, I wanted to stop him’.
‘My right arm came over my shoulder and it contacted the left hand side of Karl’s face with an open palm,’ he continued.
‘I didn’t apply any excessive force that would have caused any sober person to fall over.’
But moments later, Mr Poole had fallen to the floor. Tompkinson said he held his mobile phone in his left hand throughout and there was ‘no punch at all’.
He added: ‘I am not responsible for Karl Poole’s double skull fracture. He went off due to his own instability. He fell in a completely different direction.’
Tompkinson said his thought towards Mr Poole was ‘change your mind about coming towards me and further into my property’ and he used his open palm against his face to stop him.
Tompkinson told the jury he found Mr Poole to be ‘snoring very loudly’ on the ground and believed he had ‘given in to his stupor’ as he was ‘passed out in a very very deep sleep.’
Police arrested Tompkinson later in the day after speaking to a neighbour who had seen the incident from her bedroom window and claimed he had punched Mr Poole to the ground.
The actor said the six hours sat in the police station was ‘a very new experience for me.’
Tompkinson told the court that during his long career as an actor he had worked in many ‘stressful situations’ but had never assaulted anyone.
He told the court he got his big break of a seven-month contract with the BBC after winning a top student award when finishing drama school in 1987.
His first big hit was in the TV comedy series Drop the Dead Donkey and the TV series Ballykissangel was watched by 15 million viewers, he said.
Other hits included Wild at Heart and DCI Banks and he also starred in the film Brassed Off. He appeared in the TV series Dad as Barry Martin. He also appeared in the BBC adaption of the book Kes by Barry Hines.
He told the court he had lost work as a result of the case and needed to work to earn a living.
Stephen Tompkinson recalled advice given by his late father when Ballykissangel made him a household name to ‘show respect’ as he had effectively been invited into people’s living rooms.
The trial continues. Stephen Tompkinson denies GBH.
At the court reporting on this story is Steve Jay Deerhunter.
