EastEnders star Scott Maslen was allegedly involved in a fight with a disabled dog-walker following a dispute over picking up poo in a park.
Michael Kelly, 55, who suffers from MS, has accused Mr Maslen, 53, of fracturing his eye socket after a heated debate in Regents Park in London.
He told the Sun how he and the soap actor ended up on the floor after the argument turned into a brawl which left him with whiplash and needing hospital treatment.
Sources close to Mr Maslen, who was walking his Labrador Chewbecca, said that there had been a ‘scuffle’ but insisted he did not start the altercation. MailOnline has approached Mr Maslen for comment.
Mr Kelly, who owns a four-year-old labradoodle called Ned and was walking in the park with his son-in-law, said he become aware of a man shouting behind him when he was on his phone.
EastEnders star Scott Maslen was involved in a fight with a disabled dog-walker following a dispute over picking poo
Michael Kelly, 55, who suffers from MS, has accused Mr Maslen, 53, of fracturing his eye socket after a heated debate in Regents Park (pictured) in London
Mr Maslen made his EastEnder’s debut in 2007 and has been a main stay on the soap portraying hardman Jack Branning
He went on to say that the man, he later recognised as Mr Maslen, was ‘furious’ because Ned had gone to the toilet and he ‘hadn’t picked the poo up quickly enough’.
Mr Kelly claimed that the argument at the park on October 19 quickly turned into a brawl which left him with blood dripping from his face.
After the incident he said he drove back to his daughter’s home in Islington, North London, before going to hospital where he needed stitches to his nose. He also says that he has to see an eye specialist for ongoing treatment.
‘Of course I was going to pick up the dog poo but he didn’t give me a chance,’ Mr Kelly said.
‘He was shouting obscenities. I told him I’d pick it up when I was ready. It was unbelievable.
‘He shouted, “Who do you think you are?”. He kept calling me a mug. “You mug, you’re such a mug, you’re a f***ing mug”. I was shocked but said, “You’re the mug”. I replied, “Who do you think you are? What are you doing?”‘
Mr Kelly, a former charity worker, suffers from multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease that affects the central nervous system and leaves him needing a stick and sometimes a wheelchair.
He added that a woman dog-walker called the police after witnessing the incident while he snapped two pictures of the actor after recognising him from EastEnders.
Friends close to Mr Maslen said there had been a row with a man in Regent’s Park after he had not picked up his dog’s poo
The source said that the man was ‘refusing’ to pick up his dogs poo before the argument ‘escalated by the other man’ broke out
Friends close to Mr Maslen said there had been a row with a man in Regent’s Park after he had not picked up his dog’s poo.
The source said that the man was ‘refusing’ to pick up his dogs poo before the argument ‘escalated by the other man’ broke out.
A spokesperson for Metropolitan Police told MailOnline that an investigation into the incident has been launched.
The force said: ‘Police are continuing to investigate an assault on a 55-year old man in Regent’s Park after it was reported on Saturday, October 19.
‘Officers are now in their early stages of the investigation and are supporting the victim. No arrests have been made.
‘Anyone with information concerning this incident should call police on 101 or Tweet @MetCC quoting Connect ref: 01/981547/24 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111’
Mr Maslen first made his name starring as Detective Sergeant Phil Hunter in police drama The Bill between 2002 and 2007.
He went on to make his EastEnder’s debut in 2007 portraying hardman Jack Branning, the brother of Max and April Branning.
In 2010, he took a brief break from the role to compete in Strictly Come Dancing in which he finished fourth alongside his dance partner Natalie Lowe.
He is married to Estelle Rubio, whom he shares a grown-up son, with the couple living in North London near to Regents Park.
