EastEnders star Jacqueline Jossa has opened up about the terrifying armed robbery that took place at her holiday villa in Spain.
The actor was “struggling to sleep” when she caught two men in balaclavas rummaging through her belongings. The thieves stole £20,000 worth of jewellery and money from the Marbella villa.
“I opened my eyes to see that our bedroom door was wide open, and I sleep with the door closed,” she told The Sun. “And then I thought, ‘Why is there torch light coming in through the darkness?’.
As Jossa went to investigate, she saw the intruders quickly make their exit, but feared they had taken one of her children.
“I was trembling and couldn’t really speak as I was the most scared I’ve ever been in my life and instantly thought, ‘Oh my God! The kids!’
“‘Did he have a child in his hand? Did I see a little girl’s leg?’ I couldn’t think straight and was panicking.”
After waking up her husband Dan Osborne, Jossa “frantically” checked each room to make sure her children were still in bed. “I had to reassure myself, touch them, to make sure they were there,” added the star.
“It wobbles me a bit, because I think it could have been so different as one of the kids could have woken up and seen a man holding something sharp and in a balaclava.
“And that would have scarred them for life, so as much as it probably has scarred me for life, I’m so grateful it was me rather than them.”
Despite her £7,000 engagement ring being stolen, Jossa was grateful that her family were unharmed during the incident.
“I don’t think we will get our stuff back but if one of us had woken up at a different time, or someone had chased someone, or, God forbid, they weren’t looking for jewellery, and they were looking for kids, it would have been much worse,” she said.
EastEnders airs on Mondays – Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.
