Ex-soap star ‘overwhelmed’ by job-revelation support
FORMER EASTENDERS star Katie Jarvis has said she is “overwhelmed” by the support she has received from the acting community after it was revealed she works as a security guard.
The actress, who played Hayley Slater on the BBC One soap for a year until February, is employed by variety retailer B&M in Romford, Essex, and the news of her job made the front pages on Sunday.
Jarvis, 28, said that she felt “degraded” and like she was being “job-shamed” over the reports, but that she was grateful to have the support of other actors.
EastEnders star Tamzin Outhwaite and comic and actress Kathy Burke were among those defending Jarvis on social media, as well as former soap stars Bronagh Waugh and Charlie Condou.
Jarvis told BBC Two’s Victoria Derbyshire: “I am overwhelmed, I didn’t realise on Sunday... it hit me, and where I’m not on Twitter I’ve never seen any of this.”
She said she was “so I’m glad I’ve got their support”.
Outhwaite, known for playing Mel Owen in EastEnders, said
that Jarvis is “grafting” and that there is “no shame” in working in other jobs to earn a living.
She added: “Yes, I am a landlady, a voice over artist, car boot salesperson, art dealer, up cyclist, interior designer, motivational speaker, and many other jobs... it’s what artists do to earn a living.”
Burke tweeted: “Person gets job so her kids don’t starve? Good for her.”
Former Coronation Street star Condou tweeted: “When I left
Corrie I had a string of very nice tv and theatre jobs. Then I didn’t. So I got a job working in a restaurant to pay my bills and take care of my kids.”
Waugh, who has appeared in Hollyoaks and The Fall, said: “It’s the reality of being a jobbing, working actor. No shame in it at all.”
Jarvis said that the news of her job made her feel “really embarrassed” but now realises she had nothing to be embarrassed about at all.