Shocking facts have surfaced following the arrest of John McManus, the star of The Traitors UK, for a drunken attack on a waitress.
The 51-year-old, who appeared as a Faithful on Claudia Winkleman’s famous BBC game show, was arrested in May 2023 after carrying out a brutal attack on a member of staff at an Edinburgh seafood restaurant.
A waiter requested John, a spa therapist and actor, to turn down the sound after he and a companion were overheard yelling at their table while seated near to small children at The Ship On The Shore.
However, staff said that, as John was leaving the eatery, he ‘got up in the waiter’s face and called him a c**t’, with a physical brawl following outside.
CCTV footage, obtained by The Sun, captured the moment the former reality star started punching the 62-year-old waiter repeatedly.
After pretending to depart, John returned, racing back and pulling another female staff member to the ground with her hair.
His arms were swinging in anger, and his friend was unable to stop him.
After the woman collapsed to the floor, John was dragged out by a friend while other customers and staff gathered to try to settle the situation.
The waitress was assisted to her feet before being consoled by coworkers and resting her hands on her head.
As John’s companion attempted to guide him away, numerous people rushed around him and began throwing fists.
They were grasping his arms and yelling, evidently in an attempt to persuade him to stay rather than flee the repercussions of his conduct.
According to a source, The Traitors star ‘was cursing and using the F-word a lot’ after the fight on May 7 at around 8 p.m.
‘They were seated next to a table with young children and it wasn’t appropriate,’ the onlooker shared.
They further stated that John was ‘badmouthing’ the waiter to other members of staff and threatened not to leave the restaurant without ‘doing’ something to him.
According to reports, the waiter was unable to defend himself from John, who was ‘raining blows’.
‘A female member of staff had come outside to see what was happening, she didn’t even say anything to him,’ they added before John dragged her to the floor.
Customers contacted the cops, who responded immediately and captured John, the murderer in episode five of The Traitors.
The female staff member developed post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the event.
She claims the event has left her ’emotionally damaged’ and forced her to abandon her work.
A friend of hers said that she had enrolled in self-defense lessons following the ‘confidence-destroying’ assault.
She reportedly ‘cried for three days straight’ and was ‘scared to leave the house’.
The woman now ‘has a constant headache which her GP said is a symptom of PTSD’ and it is preventing her from working.
She is presently in treatment and is concerned that she may have to leave the hospitality sector totally.
Following the confrontation, John was fined £1,070, which his friend described as ‘nothing for someone of his height.’
‘The compensation he has been ordered to pay will barely cover the fees for the therapy she has had to have because of his actions.’
On December 15, 2023, John pled guilty to two assault counts at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.
He was fined £470 and ordered to pay the waitress £600 as compensation.
