Ex-EastEnders star Billy Murray charged with beating wife and daughter 'after late-night row'



Former EastEnders actor Billy Murray has been charged with beating his wife and daughter following an alleged alcohol-fuelled late-night row.



Murray was arrested after a 999 call to the £700,000 penthouse flat of his second wife Elaine.



The actor, 69, who played EastEnders villain Johnny Allen and who now fronts Injury Lawyers 4U TV adverts, had been out drinking with Elaine, 61, before a row erupted.



Murray, pictured in 1998 with wife Elaine, has been charged with two counts of common assault following the alleged row with his wife

Family affair: Billy Murray seen here with his daughter Lizzie. The 27-year-old reportedly stepped in to break up the fight but was allegedly hit

It was reported that the couple's singer daughter Lizzie, 27, stepped in to break up the fight but was allegedly hit.

The couple's other daughter, ex-Hustle star Jaime Murray, 34, was not involved in the incident in Chigwell, Essex.

Filming: Billy Murray was today taking part in the filming of an advert in Manchester

Murray, who also played Det Sgt Don Beech in The Bill, was taken away by police and has since been charged with two counts of common assault by beating.



Leading lady: The couple's daughter Jaime Murray, former star of BBC show Hustle, was not involved in the incident

When approached at her home, the Sun reported that Elaine confirmed the incident and said she did not know Murray had been charged, but refused to comment further.

A spokesman for Murray was unavailable for comment.

Police said: 'We can confirm a 69-year-old man from London was arrested in Chigwell in the early hours of April 7.

'He has been charged with two counts of common assault. He will appear at Chelmsford Magistrates Court on May 6.'



Speaking in 2004 of his marriage to hypnotherapist Elaine, Murray said: 'We've had our rough patches, that's well-known.



'I think she'd like to get me on the couch sometimes and zap me into the 21st century.



'But I'm an old-fashioned man with old-fashioned values and that's never going to happen.'



According to the Sun, Murray lives in a £450,000 riverside flat in the Isle of Dogs, East London - 12 miles from his wife and daughter's home.