'Emmerdale' star Mark Jordon 'growled like a mad dog' before biting pensioner, court hears

Emmerdale’s Mark Jordon was supported by his co-stars in court today as he stood trial for attacking a pensioner.

Jordon, 54, who plays Daz Spencer in the ITV soap, allegedly bit 68-year-old Andrew Potts and pushed his partner Rosalind O’Neill after a row broke out in a beer garden in Oldham, Greater Manchester.

Jordon’s co-stars Chris Chittell, who plays Eric Pollard, Nick Miles, who is Jimmy King in the soap, and Sammy Winward, who played Katie Sugden, sat in the front row of the public gallery for the hearing.

Jordon is accused of affray, unlawfully wounding and assault by beating outside the Farrars Arms on July 1 last year, where he was celebrating his engagement to co-star Laura Norton.

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The court heard the former Heartbeat star shouted “I’ll f***ing kill you” and growled “like a mad dog”.

Giving evidence at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court, Mr Potts wiped away tears as he described the “frightening” alleged assault.

The court heard the row broke out when Miss O’Neill made the comment “I hope they are using protection” about Jordon’s daughter, who had been “straddling” a boy in the beer garden.

“The next thing I see is Jordon on the other side of our bench screaming at Rosalind, and I mean really screaming,” Mr Potts said.

“He said, ‘That’s my f***ing daughter you are talking about’.”

The jury was told Miss O’Neill apologised, but Mr Potts said: “I wouldn’t let my daughter act like that in front of me.”

CCTV footage showed the soap actor having to be held back from Mr Potts.

Mr Potts said Jordon was “like a madman” and was dragged back as he screamed: “I’ll f***ing kill you, you old b******.”

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He told the court he threw a couple of punches at Jordon and the actor’s nose started to bleed, although he said he did not strike him to the nose and believed he had taken cocaine.

Keith Harrison, defending, suggested Mr Potts had called Jordon’s daughter a “slag”.

Mr Potts said: “No, 100%, not at all.”

He also denied saying he had filmed the girl and would post it on YouTube, but told the court he might have said “f*** off, you think you’re clever because you’re on TV” to Jordon’s fiancee Norton, 36, who plays Kerry Wyatt in Emmerdale.

Asked if he had called Jordon a “d***head”, Mr Potts laughed and said: “He was acting like one.”

The court heard Mr Potts and Miss O’Neill were escorted from the pub.

Mr Potts said that after walking some distance down the road, a taxi pulled up in front of them and Jordon got out and pushed Miss O’Neill to the floor.

“I just seen this mountain of a man,” Mr Potts said.

“I did kick him between his legs. He didn’t flinch.

“He then came towards me and he was still screaming and shouting and his face was… it was just horrendous, he was growling like a mad dog.”

Mr Potts said Jordon bit his thumb and the palm of his hand, spitting out a chunk of skin, and the pair of them fell to the ground, where Jordon bit his eyebrow.

He denied a suggestion from Mr Harrison that he had pushed Miss O’Neill out of the way before jumping on Jordon’s back and putting his fingers and thumb inside his mouth to grab his cheek.

Jordon, who wore a striped T-shirt and suit jacket, denies affray, unlawfully wounding Mr Potts and the assault by beating of Miss O’Neill.