CJ de Mooi arrested: Ex-Eggheads star in court to fight extradition over suspected murder

Former TV quiz star appears in the dock of Westminster Magistrates' Court after being arrested at Heathrow on his return from a business trip to South Africa

CJ de Mooi, the former star of BBC quiz show Eggheads, is fighting extradition to Holland after being arrested on suspicion of murder.

The 46-year-old appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on Thursday, after being arrested at Terminal Three of Heathrow airport on Wednesday under a European arrest warrant issued by Dutch Police.

In his autobiography, published last year, the quiz star claimed that in 1988, when he was a teenager living on the streets of Amsterdam and resorting to prostitution to survive, he might have killed a would-be mugger in self-defence.

He wrote: “This is the one incident of my life I do regret.

“I was in a phone box and this old guy, obviously a massive drug user, came up behind me with a knife in his hand … he told me to turn around, open my bag and give him whatever was inside … I punched him so hard in the face, knocked the knife out of his hand and threw him in the canal. I fully suspect I killed him. I’ve no idea what happened to him.”

It was reported by the Daily Mirror, the newspaper serialising the autobiography, that Dutch police were looking into what de Mooi had written.

At the time, however, there appeared to be no evidence – beyond Mr de Mooi’s own unsubstantiated claim - that any crime had been committed.

On Thursday, though, the TV star, who had been returning from a business trip to South Africa when he was arrested, found himself in the dock of Westminster Magistrates' Court.

Wearing grey tracksuit bottoms, a green t-shirt and a hoodie, he listened as Prosecutor Brian Gibbins said: "The defendant appears today on a European arrest warrant issued by a Dutch prosecutor in Amsterdam. This is an allegation relating to matters of manslaughter, murder, assault and assault by battery.

"It relates to an incident said to have taken place in 1988 in Amsterdam."

Mr Gibbins added: "It appears the defendant, a TV personality, wrote an autobiography. And in that autobiography it said that the defendant claimed that whilst living in Amsterdam in 1988 he may have killed a drug addict who was attempting to mug him by punching him and throwing him into a canal in Amsterdam.

"It is understood that person had a knife with him, it was said that the defendant punched his assailant square in the face, disarmed him and threw him in the canal.

"On the face of the warrant he is wanted for further questions."

De Mooi, who lives with his husband in Caldicot, Wales, is opposing his extradition.

Chris Stevens, representing de Mooi, said there was a "lot of missing information" from the warrant.

"The words were in his own book, the information provided in that book," he added.

"There doesn't appear to be a named victim in the warrant, date of birth or even an address where this matter took place."

He said the inquiry by the Dutch authorities was based on "something that might have happened" and which "could arguably be self defence".

Mr Stevens continued: "There isn't anything to suggest the Dutch authorities are in a position to charge him with this."

De Mooi was approached by Scotland Yard for questioning by Dutch police in February this year, the court was told.

He agreed to be questioned but only if it was "formally in an interview setting with the appropriate protection". He did not hear about the matter again, Mr Stevens said.

He added: "He has carried on with his life as normal, gone to pursue work and a career."

The aspiring actor was allegedly arrested at airport security on the way back from meeting a film agent in South Africa with his husband, who is a costume designer.

"To be pulled to one side as he was going through security was a shock to him and his husband," Mr Stevens said.

District Judge Vanessa Baraitser told de Mooi: "This is an accusation warrant - the allegation is of course a serious one.

"I do have regard for the circumstances of the case - these allegations came to light by your own admissions, by your own book and in your own words."

She released de Mooi on bail to appear at the court on November 28 for an extradition hearing.

De Mooi and his husband, who are both apparently out of work, were ordered to pay £5,000 security as a bail condition.

He was also banned from international travel, has to sleep every night at his home address and keep a charged mobile phone with him at all times.

In January of this year de Mooi was suspended from Eggheads after being the subject of police inquiries into allegations – later dismissed - that he had sexually assaulted a 23-year-old man during a night out with friends in Glasgow.

De Mooi was questioned by police, but officers later dropped the inquiry, effectively clearing the quiz star of any suggestion of wrongdoing.

In May, however, de Mooi claimed that on the same day that the police dropped their inquiry, the independent production firm that makes Eggheads axed him from the show by sending him an email saying: “It feels like the right time to refresh the Eggheads line-up.”

A friend of de Mooi was quoted by the Mirror as saying: “CJ feels like he’s been persecuted, gone through hell, his life and finances have completely collapsed. He feels he’s got nothing left and will never appear on British TV again. It’s an awful situation.”

De Mooi himself said he was moving to South Africa to pursue an acting career, issuing a tweet saying: ““I’m leaving England for my acting future in Cape Town. I’m so grateful for all the show has given me but must try this now.”

In last year’s autobiography, de Mooi had claimed he grew up in a violent, racist and homophobic household in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, before running away in 1987.

He ended up, aged 17, homeless, living on the streets of London, and surviving working as a rent boy in a brothel.

He wrote: “My body was the only commodity I had and if I wanted to eat, I had to sell it... I wish I hadn’t had to do it but I don’t regret doing it.”

He stowed away on a boat to Amsterdam, but had to resort to prostitution again after arriving in the Dutch capital.

In 1989, aged 19, he moved on to Cologne, where he said he was spotted by a model scout while begging outside a nightclub.

He was able to build a successful career in modelling and turned his life around.

He said he changed his name from Joseph Connagh by deed poll, taking the comon Dutch surname de Mooi, which translates as "the beautiful", because: "I no longer want to be associated with my family".

He appeared as a contestant on a succession of TV quiz shows before Eggheads. His tirade after being voted off The Weakest Link was so memorable it was added to the show’s website. He was later invited to compete in a ‘bad losers’ edition of The Weakest Link, which he won.

Referring to de Mooi’s birth name, a Scotland Yard spokesman said: "A man was arrested at Heathrow Airport on Wednesday, 21 September on a European Arrest Warrant issued in the Netherlands in relation to an allegation of murder.

"Joseph Connagh, 46, self employed, of Monmouthshire appears in custody at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday."