Former EastEnders star Sid Owen has claimed he was ‘assaulted’ on a BA flight from Dubai to London after which he was escorted off and jeered by passengers for delaying the flight.
Sid and an Arabic man thought to be in his 20s got into an argument on 7 March when Sid was reportedly slapped when he objected to the man reclining his seat before take off.
It has been claimed that they were both marched off the Boeing 777 flight by British Airways staff; as Sid left the flight one enraged passenger reportedly shouted ‘Rickaaaaay’, a reference to his EastEnders character.
A spokeswoman for BA told Metro.co.uk: ‘Our highly trained cabin crew were on hand to help resolve a disagreement between two customers, which delayed the flight.’
‘We were at the gate when he came storming up the aisle shouting at a male steward, ‘Someone’s just slapped me’. He was extremely red, gesticulating and agitated,’ an eyewitness claimed.
‘Apparently, the guy in front of him had reclined his seat and Sid Owen had objected. Then it turned into handbags. Everyone recognised him and was fed up at this little spat delaying us. We learned later that a steward offered to sit the two them at opposite ends of the plane but they were so indignant they refused.’
Speaking to The Sun, Sid later simply confirmed: ‘I was assaulted.’
It is thought he boarded a later flight home.
Reps for Sid have been contacted by Metro.co.uk.
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