‘They ransacked the place’: Denise van Outen reveals she was burgled within HALF AN HOUR of posting a picture on holiday… as she urges fans not to become ‘vulnerable’ by sharing snaps
- The TV icon, 46, was away in Spain to ring in New Year’s Eve with her boyfriend Eddie Boxshall, 45, and pals when she decided to post a snap
- Less than half an hour later, CCTV captured burglars, who had been monitoring her Instagram, sneaking into her home in Kent and ‘ransacking’ the place
- She said: ‘They robbed my house and took loads of my stuff, ransacked the place. That was a lesson learned – don’t post your pictures on holiday’
Denise van Outen has revealed her burglary hell – after she posted a picture while on holiday and had her home invaded just half an hour later.
The TV icon, 46, was away in Spain to ring in New Year’s Eve with her boyfriend Eddie Boxshall, 45, and pals, when she decided to post a snap despite his protestations and insistence it was a bad idea to share the picture.
Less than half an hour later, CCTV captured burglars, who had been monitoring her Instagram, sneaking into her home in Kent and ‘ransacking’ the place.
Trauma: Denise van Outen has revealed her burglary hell – after she posted a picture while on holiday and had her home invaded just half an hour later
Speaking to Kate Thornton on her White Wine Question Time podcast, Denise said: ‘We were in Spain about three years ago on New Year’s Eve.
‘I am the queen of taking pictures on holiday but we always try to have a rule that we won’t post any pictures on social media, we’ll just enjoy the holiday…
Denise was away with Eddie a commodities trader from Essex who specialises in the oil business. She continued: ‘Eddie said ‘let’s just enjoy being with our friends don’t turn it into a photoshoot. I should have listened. I took a photo…
‘That was quite early on in the evening about seven o’clock.We were having a cuddle on the dance floor and I posted the photo.
Way back when: The TV icon, 46, was away in Spain to ring in New Year’s Eve with her boyfriend Eddie Boxshall, 45, and pals, when she decided to post a snap despite his protestations and insistence it was a bad idea to share the picture
‘We left the restaurant about 3am or 4am and it was late by the time we got back to the apartment and I had a couple of missed calls on my phone from a number in Kent which is where I lived…
‘I thought, that’s really weird. I thought, I’ll go to bed and sleep on it, it can’t be anything urgent.’
Eddie, who recently appeared on the TV show Gogglebox alongside his girlfriend, explained what happened next.
Tough times: Less than half an hour later, CCTV captured burglars, who had been monitoring her Instagram, sneaking into her home in Kent and ‘ransacking’ the place
He said: ‘So basically a cleaner had been round [to Denise’s house]. She had been in the house cleaning everything downstairs thinking it’s all fine and then she went upstairs and it was obliterated…
‘They had broken in through the top window because of the alarm system…’
Denise continued: ‘When the police came they said to me ‘would anyone have known you were away?’ and I said ‘No…’
Annoying: Denise, who once played Roxie Hart in Chicago in the West End and on Broadway, continued: ‘When the police came they said to me ‘would anyone have known you were away?’ and I said ‘N’
‘They [the burglars] had been looking on my Instagram, had seen we were away and took the opportunity knowing the house had been empty… they robbed my house and took loads of my stuff, ransacked the place.
‘That was a lesson learned – don’t post your pictures on holiday.
‘I posted the photo at about 7pm and my house was robbed at 7:30pm.
‘Also another thing is, you are not covered on your house insurance if you post photos on social media while you are on holiday because you are showing your house is vulnerable and empty.’