WATCH: 'Bridgerton' star Genevieve Chenneour fights back after thief tries to steal her phone
A London thief learned a hard lesson when he tried to steal the phone of Bridgerton star Genevieve Chenneour, who fought back.
In security footage from the Metropolitan Police Service, Chenneour could be seen sitting at a London cafe with her phone placed on top of her table. A man wearing a face mask and a black hoodie slowly approached her and swiped her phone when she appeared to not be looking.
However, the actress quickly turned her head after having noticed the suspicious activity. Seeing her gadget gone, she acted fast and grabbed the man to try and get her phone back.
A bystander assisted Chenneour as she pushed the man to the ground, took her phone back, and hit him repeatedly with it.
Here's an Algerian thief trying to steal Bridgerton star Genevieve Chenneour's phone in a coffee shop. Zacariah Boulares also threatened to chop off Aled Jones's arm when he stole his watch https://t.co/1FTKLCUSmt pic.twitter.com/BLmM87xk1S
— CourtNewsUK (@CourtNewsUK) June 12, 2025
The thief, identified as 18-year-old Zachariah Boulares, has now been remanded into custody with sentencing scheduled for June 17, according to The Independent.
In an interview on the This Morning talk show, Chenneour recalled that she "had a bit of a sixth sense that something wasn't quite right" at the time of the incident.
"As a woman, you have that kind of intuition, and I could feel people moving around me in a different way, but I only became aware of it once the incident. But I did feel they were going back and forth trying to find a target, so they chose me," she said.
She shared that her instinct was to fight back at the thief, a reaction honed by growing up with three brothers and her fight training for acting projects.
"I don't know what came over me. I thought that was a normal reaction. And then I've read all the comments and realized actually a lot of people would just let them take the phone," Chenneour said.
While the footage only showed a glimpse of the scene, Chenneour detailed that the incident went on for about five minutes and revealed that the thief also had an accomplice with him.
"He had someone with him as well, and I was threatened with being stabbed, so it became a real matter of, in my mind, life and death. I remember kicking him back with my leg to create space in case he had a weapon on him. It was just a life-changing crazy moment," she said.
Since the incident, the actress has had a hard time stepping foot outside her house.
"As a woman, we already have our wits about us around strangers and random men, so to have this happen to me just made me quite agoraphobic. Leaving the house was really hard," Chenneour lamented.
Despite her courageous act, she discouraged others from doing the same, emphasizing the significant danger involved.
Chenneour is known for portraying Miss Clara Livingston in the Netflix period drama Bridgerton. Prior to this, she has mostly served as a minor character in shows such as Britannia, Avenue 5, and Trigonometry.
