Ex-EastEnders actor Katie Jarvis standing trial for assault and racially aggravated harassment

Actor, who played role of Hayley Slater on popular soap, was arrested in July 2020 following physical altercation at bar in Essex

Katie Jarvis played Hayley Slater on the soap (BBC)

Former EastEnders star Katie Jarvis is set to stand trial on Tuesday over her alleged involvement in a racially aggravated bar fight.

The actor, who played the role of Hayley Slater on the soap from 2018 to 2019, was arrested on 31 July 2020 following a physical altercation at a bar in Southend, Essex.

She is charged with racially aggravated harassment, common assault and two counts of assault by beating.

Jarvis, 30, of Rainham, east London, denies all four charges and is due to stand trial at Basildon Combined Court today.

Jarvis arrives at Basildon Combined Court where she denies racially aggravated harassment, common assault and two counts of assault by beating (Joe Giddens/PA)

Jarvis made her debut in 2009 starring in the lead role of Mia in the critically acclaimed film Fish Tank.

The actor won a British Independent Film award for her role in the film, which was in the running for the Palme d’Or at Cannes in the year it came out.

The Dagenham-born performer and mother-of-two said in 2019 she had taken a “step back from acting”.

Celebrities supported her after press reports she was working as a security guard in a shop after leaving EastEnders.

Appearing on Victoria Derbyshire, Jarvis said she had felt “degraded”, “really embarrassed” and “quite ashamed” by the reports.