EastEnder back in show for graveside punch-up... amid sex scandal row off screen
THE BBC has been told it risks underestimating the impact of sexual harassment on women by bringing Rob Kazinsky back to EastEnders, 10 years after he left the soap.
During his first stint on the show he was at the centre of a scandal that saw him briefly suspended after he sent explicit photos to a fan.
Pictures from an upcoming episode show Kazinsky, 35, who plays womanising Sean Slater, in a brawl with Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) at the grave of Slater’s ex-partner Roxy, who was played by Rita Simons.
Sussex-born Kazinsky was briefly suspended by bosses 12 years ago for sending sexually explicit snaps of himself and messages to fan Aimi Veness, whom he met online. He left the show in 2009.
After EastEnders, Kazinsky landed roles in Hollywood blockbusters including Pacific Rim, Warcraft and upcoming Captain Marvel.
But critics say his TV return could send the wrong message to women who have been victims of sexual harassment.
Karen Ingala Smith of Nia, a women’s charity, said: “It’s important not to underestimate the scale and impact of unsolicited sexual imagery on women and girls.
“If we were to try to bar all men from ever working again who had sexually harassed women or done other inappropriate or abusive things in their careers, there’d be few still working.
“But women have long memories and if [online campaign] #MeToo has raised awareness and puts him [Kazinsky] and other men on notice, it may be to the good.”
The BBC declined to comment on the row. Last June, Kazinsky apologised to Ms Veness as he stood up for his American girlfriend Chloe Dykstra, 30, who said she was sexually and emotionally abused by an ex-boyfriend.
Fans tweeted he himself had been at the centre of a scandal and he replied: “I was, and still am, ashamed.
“The personal fallout of my actions was one of the hardest times in my life and something I’m grateful to have experienced, because that humbling made me the man I am today: one who supports women, supports #MeToo and supports equality for all.
“I would like to take this opportunity to offer a sincere, personal apology to the woman I once knew.
“I am so sorry, 34-year-old me joins you in disgust at 22-year-old me and a personal apology should have been made in 2007, not more than a decade later.”
Ex-MP Ann Widdecombe said Kazinsky should be given another chance. “People these days think once you have done something you should pay for it forever,” she said
“At what point should we allow him to rebuild his life? I doubt he will do it again.”
Meanwhile, EastEnders star Nitin Ganatra, 51, has quit as Masood Ahmed after 12 years, but bosses have left the door open for a return.
Visit niaendingviolence.org. uk