Paul Whitehouse fought off a cashpoint mugger as his concerned wife urged the public to be ‘super vigilant out there’.
A thug attempted to snatch the 68-year-old comedian’s card outside of Sainsbury’s on Essex Road in Islington, north London, his wife, Dr Mine Conkbayir, said.
The Fast Show actor was on his way to pick up medication for his wife, who had ‘a bad reaction to some treatment’ which left her ‘feeling rather rotten’.
‘He did fight back and retrieved his card, with the perp scuttling away empty-handed. But that’s not the point, is it,’ his wife, who is an ADHD advocate, said. ‘So, please, everyone – I don’t mean to patronise, but please be super vigilant out there.’
Whitehouse is the latest celebrity to be struck by crime in Sir Sadiq Khan’s lawless London as figures indicate crime has soared in England’s capital city since the Labour mayor came into power.
Last year, an Algerian migrant was jailed for two years and four months after stealing a suitcase carrying £250,000 worth of luxury items and jewellery from Jenson Button’s wife Brittny.
Mourad Aid, 41, swiped Mrs Button’s Goyard carry-on, filled with jewellery from her wedding and heirlooms she wanted to pass onto her daughter, on February 13, 2025, as they returned from a Valentine’s getaway in Paris.
That same year, Bridgerton actress Genevieve Chennour had her phone stolen by prolific Algerian thief Zacariah Boulares in a Joe & The Juice branch on High Street Kensington.
CCTV obtained by the Daily Mail showed the actress bravely fighting back against the then 18-year-old who had threatened to behead Aled Jones with a machete while stealing his £17,000 Rolex just 18 months before.
Paul Whitehouse fought off a cashpoint mugger on Essex Road in islington as he picked up medication for his wife
His wife, Dr Mine Conkbayir, (pictured with Whitehouse this week) urged people to be ‘super vigilant out there’
Whitehouse has been with his wife, Dr Conkbayir, for over two decades, having first met while she was working at a health food shop in Islington and studying for her degree.
Despite tying the knot in 2019 and sharing a daughter, Delilah, together, the pair prefer to live close to one another in North London rather than in the same household.
In a previous interview with the Daily Mail, their relationship was described as one that developed slowly by Dr Conkbayir, who said Whitehouse was ‘scared because of the age gap and his celebrity status’.
‘I guess he had to ask himself what I really wanted,’ she said.
Dr Conkbayir endured a difficult childhood at the hands of her drug-dealer father, who threatened to stab her mother and openly took cocaine in front of his family.
However, her difficult start did not prevent her from achieving an illustrious academic career in neuroscience, specifically concerning brain development in babies and small children.
Dr Conkbayir has a PhD in early childhood education and neuroscience, and has also released a book on the subject which set out how brain patterns developed in a child’s first three years govern their adult life.
She is a lecturer, an award-winning author, trainer and also has an MBE for her services to childcare, as well as her own consultancy firm.
She also hosts a podcast series alongside her husband called ‘I’m ADHD! No You’re Not’ which has featured a slew of celebrity guests including Stephen Fry, comedian Nish Kumar and actor Simon Pegg.
Both she and Whitehouse have campaigned for meaningful support and accessible services for families with neurodivergent children.
Last week, they appeared on BBC Breakfast discussing their view on the independent Fonagy Review into ADHD and Autism.
‘We welcome the report’s calls for tighter regulation of private clinics and a shift towards a needs-led system; we need action,’ she wrote.
‘The government has promised a response strategy by the end of the year, but families cannot afford to wait any longer.’
Anyone with information or witnessed the incident is asked to call 101 with reference CAD3784/17Oct.
