Ben Thompson: BBC Breakfast star scarred by Mayfair attack — a night that changed how he walks London
Leaving Cecconi’s in Burlington Gardens late at night, ben thompson and companion Roja Dove were watched by a “spotter” before a gang of six men set upon them and tore their watches from their wrists. The assault left Thompson with a physical scar and a changed sense of safety on the streets of the capital.
Why does Ben Thompson say he no longer feels safe in London?
In a victim impact statement delivered as two gang members received prison sentences, ben thompson said the attack has altered his behaviour and left him unsettled. “I am nervous and jumpy when I hear a jogger or cyclist approaching behind me, ” he stated. The £7, 000 Rolex taken from Thompson was a specially engraved 40th birthday present from his partner, Andy Roche — a personal object whose loss compounded the physical injury where the watch was ripped from his wrist.
What happened that night in Mayfair?
The pair had been leaving a restaurant when they were observed by a spotter and then targeted by a group of six. Roja Dove was forced to the ground and had his £150, 000 diamond-studded Patek Philippe taken; the attackers then grabbed Thompson and forcibly removed his Rolex. CCTV footage later identified two of the group as Hocine Boulanouar, 26, and Danis Tom-Deter, 36. Boulanouar denied being present despite the footage, while Tom-Deter admitted his involvement in the theft.
How did the courts respond, and what do the victims say?
At the Old Bailey, Mr Recorder Jeremy Benson sentenced Boulanouar to four years and three months and Tom-Deter to two years and nine months in prison. The judge described the events as “clearly a very frightening experience on the streets of central London at night. They were set upon and each man was held whilst their watches were dragged off their wrists. “
Dove, 69, told the court that the Patek Philippe had been a reward for years of work and that its theft made that achievement feel pointless: “I have worked hard for everything I have. The watch was a present to myself when I reached the age of 65. ” Like Thompson, Dove said the incident had profoundly affected how he feels on London’s streets: “When I walk through the streets of central London I feel like I am on high alert and I am very nervous. I feel very unsafe in London, a city I have loved my entire life. ”
The case left Thompson physically marked where the watch was torn from him and emotionally shaken. The combination of visible injury, the loss of a personally meaningful gift, and the public nature of the attack all contribute to a lasting sense of vulnerability that he described in court.
As the sentences were handed down, the criminal justice response focused on the identification of offenders through CCTV and on delivering custodial penalties for those convicted. The victims’ statements, read in open court, made clear that the impact stretches beyond material loss to the altered routines and heightened vigilance each man now carries through central London.
Back where the night began, the memory of that evening hangs in small, concrete ways: a scar on a wrist, the absence of an engraved watch, and the quieter, more cautious steps on familiar streets. ben thompson’s words about being “nervous and jumpy” echo the broader human consequence of the thefts — a city that feels less safe to people who once walked it without fear.
