Bridgerton actress Genevieve Chenneour says “almost every woman feels on edge in London” after being forced to move out of the capital when her phone was stolen in a café.
The 27-year-old star was buying a coffee from a Joe and the Juice’s Kensington branch when 18-year-old Zacariah Boulares snuck up behind her and grabbed the handset on February 8.
He was quickly confronted by Ms Chenneour, who heard the iPhone 14 being snatched, and then wrestled to the ground by her ex-partner Carlo Kurcishi.
Asked if the city is unsafe for women, she told LBC Radio on Wednesday: “Almost every woman I’ve met feels on edge in London, yeah, walking around.”
Ms Chenneour: “The level of anxiety for me, putting myself in public spaces now, is pretty awful.
“I have left London. I don’t feel comfortable living in London at the moment. It feels like the right thing for now.”
Describing the flashbacks she’s suffered, the star said: “I fall asleep and then there’s a kind of lucid point in dreaming where I’ll feel like someone’s stealing something from me and I’ll try to grab it and defend myself.
“Then I wake up and there’s no phone in my hand and I’m just in bed and my hands are sweating. I think I do have trauma from this event.”
Ms Chenneour, who played Clara Livingston in Bridgerton, says her dog is suffering trauma and “now tries to bite anyone who touches me, which is quite a problem”.
The star “blacked out” after the incident and even when viewing CCTV, did not believe she was the victim.
“I had a moment of disassociation,” she told host Nick Ferrari.
“I can’t believe my reaction. I had no idea I picked up the phone he tried to rob and used it as a weapon to defend myself. I have no memory of that, watching that is bizarre because I actually thought that was someone else’s phone on the floor.
“When I saw the picture of him with the machete, it really hit home that stabbing threat was not a joke. I am lucky.”
The actress earlier said she now experiences “intense anxiety” and flinches when people walk close to her, particularly when she is alone or in public.
“It has made daily life in London feel unsafe,” she said. “I’ve left London. For the first time since I was 15, I've gone back to live with my mum.”
Ms Chenneour said she now stays in hotels if she is working in London and avoids public transport. She is also considering therapy.
“All of this has had a profound impact on my quality of life - emotionally, practically, and professionally,” she added.
On Tuesday, Judge Martin Edmunds KC, the Recorder of Kensington and Chelsea, sentenced Boulares to 22 months in prison for common assault and three counts of theft.
He said Boulares had targeted wealthy areas for “rich pickings”, in a “systematic pattern of stealing from people as they are enjoying a meal or refreshment at a restaurant”.
Footage played in court showed Boulares enter the branch of Joe and the Juice while Ms Chenneour and Mr Kurcishi were already inside and ordering drinks.
A hooded Boulares heads to the back of the store, and later is seen lurking behind Ms Chenneour, who plays Clara Livingston in Netflix’s Bridgerton.
At the moment he leans along the counter to pick up her phone, the actress turns around and Mr Kurcishi also sees what is unfolding.
“Mr Kurcishi detained the defendant on the floor of the café for some period of time”, said prosecutor Alex Cullen.
He said Boulares had an accomplice who tries to break him free from Mr Kurcishi’s grasp, as Ms Chenneour stands over them.
She uses her arm to block Boulares from fleeing, and the phone falls to the ground. She then picks it up and uses it to strike the thief as he struggles.
Boulares was eventually let go by Mr Kurcishi. He and his accomplice managed to escape before police arrived, in a confusion over whether the café doors had been locked.
Ms Chenneour said “dangerous” Boulares’s 22-month sentence means he might only serve a year behind bars, which she described as “absolutely awful”.
She told LBC: “I could cry about that right now because this person is a serial offender, I believe he’s a career criminal, he walked the streets with a machete. This man needs serious rehabilitation. I don’t believe there is going to be any change to him in 12 months.
“In fact, the level of anxiety I have of him sitting in prison thinking ‘oh, this girl got me caught’, thinking of revenge, I don’t know.
“He’s actually a threat to the public. The man has shown that he does not care to follow rules. He’s had so many opportunities. He has no remorse at all. He put his finger up in court to swear.
“This is someone that is psychologically very, very unwell and dangerous.”
