London: A sex offender teacher was spotted acting in EastEnders by his former pupils, it was claimed today.Rob Turner, 39 - a former music teacher who admitted sexual activity with a young girl at Basildon Crown Court in Essex four years ago - said he was on the popular BBC soap for six months.
Turner was sacked from the programme after he was seen appearing with stars such as Adam Woodyatt, who plays Ian Beale, and Cheryl Fergison, who played Heather Trott, reported The Sun.
He was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register and given a suspended one-year jail sentence in 2009 after being charged with ten counts of sexual activity with a girl aged between 13 and 17.
Turner, who was sacked as a teacher, is still on the register and is seen by authorities once a year.
In March it was alleged EastEnders was being investigated over claims that people working on the show in the 80s and 90s had preyed on young fans, but the BBC said it was not aware of any probe.
Turner told The Sun: ‘I believe EastEnders had a complaint. They hit the panic button. Whether they knew what else was going on and had itchy fingers, I don’t know. I worked on the show over a six-month period.’
The revelations come as the fallout continues at the BBC from child sex scandals involving the corporation’s late former DJ Jimmy Savile and veteran broadcaster Stuart Hall.
An EastEnders spokesman said its supporting actors are booked through agencies that have undergone ‘an approval process with the BBC’.
She told The Sun: ‘We were not notified prior to Mr Turner’s appearance of his conviction.Had we known, we would not have employed him.’
