Veteran TV personality Christopher Biggins had his phone snatched by a hooded cyclist on Wednesday night as he waited for a taxi.
The 70-year-old said he was on his way home from dinner at a Covent Garden restaurant when was the phone was grabbed from his hand.
Speaking on BBC Wiltshire radio, Mr Biggins said: "I walked down to Charring Cross Road to get an Uber at quarter to midnight and I was on my phone
“I was looking down toward Trafalgar Square and I was seeing how far away he was and suddenly a hooded cyclist came by and stole my phone – just took it out of my hand.
“It was such a violation. I shouted very loudly but it was quarter to midnight and he got away.”
The actor and presenter added that his insurers cheered him up the following day when a representative asked: “Is that the real Mr Biggins?”
Mr Biggins has been in the entertainment business for nearly 50 years, starring in 1970s sitcom Porridge, followed by a host of reality TV appearances.
In December 2016, he made headlines for being kicked out of the Celebrity Big Brother house. He was axed from the show after making a tasteless Holocaust joke to Jewish contestant Katie Waissel.
“You better be careful or they’ll be putting you in a shower and taking you to a room,” Mr Biggins said, in what he now describes as the “only lowlight” of his career.
