Mohammed George | |
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George in 2009 at Wendy Richard's funeral service
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Born | 1982 (age 34–35) Hackney, East London, England |
Occupation | Actor |
Mohammed "Mo" George (born Mohammad Michael George in 1982 to a Jamaican mother and Antiguan father, in Hackney, London, England) is an actor who played Gus Smith on the soap opera EastEnders from 2002 to 2008. Before appearing in EastEnders, George made guest appearances in Holby City, Bottom (as a young trick-or-treater in the episode Terror), Kidulthood and The Last Detective. He also starred as Dennis in the children's program Renford Rejects in 2000.
George has a daughter, Olivia Destiny. His daughter was born in 2005 in Barnet, Greater London.
George was arrested on 8 December 2006 for a suspected assault on Archibald during an argument outside a restaurant. She corroborated the claims, in what started as an argument over who should empty the dishwasher. George was cautioned by the police for having swung a bag of rubbish, and was subsequently suspended by EastEnders Executive Producer Diederick Santer for two months. He apologised to the BBC and the show's producers. It was announced on 18 January 2008 that George and EastEnders had reached a mutual agreement not to renew his contract and he left the show after six years, later in 2008. George has since stated that he was "forced" to leave EastEnders after the bosses there believed newspaper headlines which he later proved wrong. He has also admitted to suffering from depression as a result of his departure from EastEnders.
In March 2009, George started libel action against The Sun newspaper, claiming that they said he was "acting like a wild animal" and branded him a "woman beater" and that this was untrue. His lawyer said the reports had "damaged his prospects as an actor". The newspaper contested the claim, but George won £75,000 libel damages on 2 April 2009. In July 2010, the Daily Star apologised and paid damages to George after they incorrectly reported that he had arrived drunk to an EastEnders 25th anniversary party and acted aggressively to the programme's producers.