{"id":8032,"date":"2025-11-29T09:33:56","date_gmt":"2025-11-29T10:33:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/?p=8032"},"modified":"2025-12-01T12:36:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T12:36:29","slug":"felicity-kendal-79-scares-off-phone-thieves-after-witnessing-three-appalling-attacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/29\/felicity-kendal-79-scares-off-phone-thieves-after-witnessing-three-appalling-attacks\/","title":{"rendered":"Felicity Kendal, 79, scares off phone thieves after witnessing three \u2018appalling\u2019 attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\"EDITORIAL\t<\/div>
Felicity Kendal has had enough of phone thieves (Picture: PA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

National treasure Felicity Kendal has turned have-a-go hero after fending off a phone snatcher in her Chelsea neighbourhood.<\/p>\n

The 79-year-old actress rose to fame as the star of beloved sitcom The Good Life<\/a> and gentle crime drama Rosemary & Thyme.<\/p>\n

She leapt into action amid a recent spate of crime in the London borough where she has lived since the 1960s<\/a>.<\/p>\n

‘Crime was never like this before. The phone-snatching is appalling,’ she revealed recently.<\/p>\n

‘Within three days I saw three,’ she outlined, sharing how she had ‘snapped’ after witnessing one such attack. <\/p>\n

Spotting a woman become swarmed by a gang of phone thieves, Felicity took action, scaring off the criminals with a well-timed honk of her car horn.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"LONDON,\t<\/div>
Felicity was witness to a series of phone robberies (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n\t\t\"Editorial\t<\/div>
Felicity found fame as a star of the stage and screen in the 1960s (Picture: ITV\/REX)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Speaking to local news outlet The Chelsea Citizen<\/a>, Felicity said: \u2018One day I was walking my dog Rufus and suddenly three bikes shot onto the pavement, smashed a car window, and someone screamed.<\/p>\n

\u2018A woman was parked there and they had taken her phone<\/a>, just like that. It was over in seconds. I was driving down Draycott Avenue the next day when I saw a young woman walking and suddenly a few bikes swarmed around her. It was like Spaghetti Junction. They grabbed her phone and they started to speed off.<\/p>\n

\u2018Something in me snapped, so I banged the horn and yelled and one of the lads dropped the phone. The woman got it back.\u2019<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"LONDON,\t<\/div>
The actress scared thieves off by honking her car horn (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n
POLL<\/div>\n
Poll<\/title><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"metro-poll__title\">Could you see yourself chasing off a phone snatcher like Felicity Kendal? <\/h3>\n<ul class=\"metro-poll__list\">\n<li data-option=\"option1\" class=\"metro-poll__option\">\n<div class=\"metro-poll__score-bar-wrapper\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-poll__content\">\n<div class=\"metro-poll__text\">Yes<span class=\"metro-poll__check-icon\"><title>Check<\/title><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-poll__score\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-option=\"option2\" class=\"metro-poll__option\">\n<div class=\"metro-poll__score-bar-wrapper\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-poll__content\">\n<div class=\"metro-poll__text\">No<span class=\"metro-poll__check-icon\"><title>Check<\/title><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-poll__score\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-option=\"option3\" class=\"metro-poll__option\">\n<div class=\"metro-poll__score-bar-wrapper\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-poll__content\">\n<div class=\"metro-poll__text\">I don't know<span class=\"metro-poll__check-icon\"><title>Check<\/title><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-poll__score\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<div class=\"factbox\" data-ico=\"factbox_article\" data-track-module=\"factbox_article\">\n<h2 class=\"factbox-title\">\n\t\t\t\tLatest London news\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<div class=\"factbox-content\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/11\/26\/quiet-commuter-village-houses-60-000-cheaper-london-24837751\/\">The \u2018quiet\u2019 commuter village with houses \u00a360,000 cheaper than London<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/11\/13\/a-capsule-missing-london-eye-24696167\/\">There’s a capsule missing from the London Eye – here’s why<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/11\/13\/drivers-london-set-pay-even-congestion-charge-next-year-24698465\/\">Here’s how much more drivers will pay for the London congestion charge next year<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em><strong>To get the latest news from the capital visit Metro’s<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/london\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> London news hub<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Describing her reaction as ‘instinct,’ Felicity went on to talk about her life in Chelsea, revealing how she might sell the four-storey house she shared with late husband Michael Rudman, who died in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I\u2019m happy to move on when the time is right,\u2019 she said, adding: ‘I have always loved living in Chelsea, so I can\u2019t imagine being anywhere else.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Felicity met theatre director husband Michael in 1974, and the pair married in 1983. Felicity and Michael divorced in 1991, before reconciling seven years later.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"973\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-24952281 lazyload\" alt=\"LONDON - NOVEMBER 24: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Michael Rudman and Felicity Kendal attends the reception for the Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2008 at the Royal Opera House on November 24, 2008 in London, England. (Photo by Dave M. Benett\/Getty Images)\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SEI_150397056-5e07.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>Felicity married theatre director Michael Rudman in 1983 (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>On meeting Felicity, Michael reflected: \u2018I can\u2019t say I fell in love with her that day, but I certainly felt differently about her than I did about her co-stars Tom Courtenay and <a data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/michael-gambon\/\">Michael Gambon<\/a>.’<\/p>\n<p>Writing in his memoir, I Joke Too Much, he continued: \u2018Soon afterwards I offered Felicity a role in a play I was directing in the West End.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The production went well and when, some time later, we began dating we decided to keep our relationship a secret.’<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"434\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-24952298 lazyload\" alt=\"LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 11: Michael Rudman and Felicity Kendal attend the press night after party for "The Price" at The National Cafe on February 11, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett\/Dave Benett\/Getty Images)\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PRI_188356202-d7eb.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>Michael sadly died in March 2023 (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In 2021, Felicity spoke of her fear when <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2021\/02\/19\/felicity-kendal-reveals-partner-was-hospitalised-for-coronavirus-14111464\/\">Michael was hospitalised with Coronavirus<\/a>, telling <a href=\"http:\/\/camdennewjournal.com\/article\/felicity-kendal-i-wont-forget-nhs-heroes-who-helped-save-michael-from-covid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Camden New Journal<\/a>: ‘I think I can speak for a lot of people about the fear being huge, and the frustration being a real hardship.’<\/p>\n<p>\u2018That feeling that you don\u2019t know what state your loved one is in, and knowing you still can\u2019t go and see them \u2013 it\u2019s not like anything you\u2019ve experienced before. It was just such a scary time. Michael is in his eighties.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Michael spent a fortnight in intensive care on a ventilator, before his eventual recovery – although the ensuing <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/health-news\/\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\">health<\/a> problems meant that he required full-time home carers for the last two years of his life.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"960\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-24952272 lazyload\" alt=\"LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 19: Felicity Kendal visits The King's Trust Garden designed by Joe Perkins during the Chelsea Flower Show on May 19, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Dave Benett\/Getty Images for The King's Trust)\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SEI_252122911-a244.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>Felicity has been frank about Michael’s passing (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Speaking to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/culture\/theatre-dance\/article\/felicity-kendal-intevriew-michael-rudman-filumena-interview-j0vvdcqtg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Times Magazine<\/a> about<a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2023\/03\/31\/michael-rudman-dead-felicity-kendals-theatre-director-partner-dies-18537627\/\"> her husband’s death<\/a>, Felicity described the experience as ‘f***ing s**t.’<\/p>\n<p>She continued: ‘People say, are you OK? Of course I\u2019m not. He just f***ing died on me. Some days I am very good. Sometimes not so good. Mostly, I am getting through. Stupid things set me off. It\u2019s very strange. You can\u2019t tell ahead what it\u2019s going to be.’<\/p>\n<p>‘If anything, I suppose I would like to say that it is good to talk about these things. There\u2019s a lot of stiff upper lip with death. People avoid it or say things like, “I\u2019m sorry you lost your husband.”<\/p>\n<p>Felicity added: ‘I actually hate that. It\u2019s as if you have lost the cat. I haven\u2019t lost Michael; he is dead. We are all at one point or another going to have to deal with similar things, so let\u2019s be open about it.’<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Got a story?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">If you\u2019ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\">Metro.co.uk<\/a> entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/submit-stuff\/\">Submit Stuff<\/a> page – we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n<section id=\"share-buttons-bottom\" class=\"share-buttons share-buttons-bottom\"><a class=\"metro-button share-bar-comments\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span><title>Comment now<\/title><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-comments__label\">Comments<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t<\/a><a class=\"metro-button share-bar-preferred-source\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/metro.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span><title>Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google<\/title><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-preferred-source__label\">Add as preferred source<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/a><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Felicity Kendal has had enough of phone thieves (Picture: PA) National treasure Felicity Kendal has turned have-a-go hero after fending off a phone snatcher in her Chelsea neighbourhood. The 79-year-old actress rose to fame as the star of beloved sitcom The Good Life and gentle crime drama Rosemary & Thyme. She leapt into action amid […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7927,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8032"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8041,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8032\/revisions\/8041"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}