Katie Jarvis: EastEnders actor praised for Victoria Derbyshire interview about being job-shamed by newspapers

Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Former EastEnders actor Katie Jarvis, who was shamed by newspapers for working in a shop, has been praised for an interview in which she said she felt “degraded”, “really embarrassed” and “quite ashamed” by the reports. She told Derbyshire: “Over my career I’ve done my best to keep away from social gatherings and celebrity things to keep my private life as private as possible so to wake up with my kids and see myself on the front pages just for simply having a job in between my acting, it really did hurt me.” Twitter users were united in their agreement that Jarvis should be commended for the interview. Jarvis, who said she felt empowered to “stand up” for the working class, called her B&M colleagues “amazing”, adding: “They get up every day and work hard for their money and it doesn’t matter what job you’re doing, I don’t think anyone should be made to feel how I did when I woke up.” Following the reports, actor Kathy Burke and comedian Rufus Hound leapt to Jarvis’s defence, with the latter tweeting: “No job that supports you is beneath you.” EastEnders actor Gillian Taylforth tweeted: “So much love and respect for Katie Jarvis. Actors are allowed ‘normal’ jobs too, you know.” Several Twitter users have compared the treatment of Jarvis to that of the former Cosby Show actor Geoffrey Owens.