A former ITV and BBC reporter punched her boyfriend and threw chips at him during an argument at a train station, a court has heard.
Victoria Mayo, 41, who was employed at ITV’s regional Anglia News until recently and has also worked as a freelancer for the BBC, is also said to have pulled Edward Royall’s hair during the ‘disagreement’.
Great Yarmouth Magistrates’ Court heard that Mr Royall called police about the alleged assault at Oulton Broad North railway station in Suffolk on February 22.
Mayo’s solicitor, Rob New, told magistrates the defendant’s partner – who supported her by accompanying her to court yesterday – had asked for the assault charge to be dropped against her.
He has also stated that he will be acting as a witness for the defence at her trial.
Mr New also queried whether the incident should have come before the court at all because the couple ‘consented’ to what allegedly happened.
‘This behaviour is consented in their relationship, so is it an assault?’ he said.
‘Miss Mayo’s partner will be a witness [for the defence] at the trial, so the dispute is whether a crime has actually taken place.
‘There is said to have been an incident at the train station. They had a disagreement, which resulted in her throwing things at him, chips at him.’
Prosecutor John Cooper said the alleged attack had been recorded on CCTV and the footage would be played at the trial.
It showed Mayo ‘pull his hair, punch him and throw chips at him’, he told the magistrates.
Mr Royall was ‘on the telephone to the police immediately after the incident’, he added.
The prosecutor said photos of Mr Royall’s injuries will also be presented to the court during the trial.
However, Mr New claimed police had been at the station for ‘a different matter’ and ‘came across the scene’.
Mr Cooper responded by requesting that the phone call between Mr Royall and the police, shortly before their arrival, be heard during the trial.
Mayo, of Lowestoft, denies the assault charge.
The University of East Anglia film and television studies graduate spent 13 years at ITV’s Anglia News until June last year.
She was also a freelance broadcast journalist and travel presenter for the BBC and Global, according to her LinkedIn account.
Chairman of the Bench Paul Hinson released Mayo on unconditional bail and told her would have to return to the court for her trial on September 12.
