SOAP star Jacqueline Jossa feared armed intruders had snatched one of her kids in a raid on her holiday villa.
The EastEnders actress had £20,000 worth of jewels and cash stolen in the Marbella break-in.
The 31-year-old actress woke to see two men in balaclavas rifling through her belongings — and feared one was carrying one of her children as he fled.
She told The Sun on Sunday: “I was trembling and couldn’t really speak as I was the most scared I’ve ever been in my life and instantly thought, ‘Oh my God! The kids!’.
“‘Did he have a child in his hand? Did I see a little girl’s leg?’ I couldn’t think straight and was panicking.”
The chilling incident happened in the early hours of last Monday in a holiday villa in Marbella, Spain.
The robbers, one of whom was armed with something “long and sharp”, took loot worth £20,000.
But Jacqueline said her first thoughts were for her daughters — Ella, nine, Mia, five — and her reality star husband Dan Osborne’s ten-year-old son Teddy.
And of the items stolen, she said she only cares about the sentimental value of the engagement ring that had been given to her by Dan, 33.
She was also heartbroken that the raiders stole Mia’s money from the tooth fairy.
Recalling the night, Jacqueline, who plays Lauren Branning in the BBC One soap, said: “I was struggling to sleep in the villa and then I heard a really distinctive sound of something metal dropping on the marble floor.
“I opened my eyes to see that our bedroom door was wide open, and I sleep with the door closed.
“And then I thought, ‘Why is there torch light coming in through the darkness?’.
“I walked out the room and I saw a man in full balaclava and gloves, who saw me and ran straight down the stairs.
“It was like a movie.
“I was in complete shock.
“So I followed him and peered over the stairs just to make sure I had seen it properly.
“Then I could hear a kerfuffle, like the men were trying to get out of the house.
“So I instantly ran to wake Dan up.
“He was obviously half asleep, in his pants, saying, ‘What’s going on, what’s going on?’.
“And I was going, ‘Someone’s downstairs’. But I don’t even know if I was speaking English as it was all a blur.
“Dan went downstairs and grabbed a pool cue from the pool table.
“There wasn’t much else he could do.”
The masked men legged it out the back door of the villa into a waiting getaway car and sped off, but Jacqueline went straight to check on her children.
She said: “I was frantically running around to all the rooms to make sure all the kids were in their beds.
“But they were all fast asleep.
“I had to reassure myself, touch them, to make sure they were there.
“That was my first thought.
“It wobbles me a bit, because I think it could have been so different as one of the kids could have woken up and seen a man holding something sharp and in a balaclava.
This could be a missing persons’ case and that would have been a totally different story
Jacqueline Jossa
“And that would have scarred them for life, so as much as it probably has scarred me for life, I’m so grateful it was me rather than them.
“Each time I close my eyes and think about it, I’m imagining them running away with a kid.
“This could be a missing persons’ case and that would have been a totally different story.”
Jacqueline is also grateful she and Dan avoided serious injury.
She said: “I saw a flash of something but after seeing CCTV I realised that they had something long and sharp in their hands.
“It wasn’t clear enough to say it was a knife.
“It could have been, like, a massive screwdriver to try to get into the door.
“But even still, it very much could pierce your skin easily.
“I think it would have been used as a weapon.
“I don’t think big men in balaclavas and gloves go into a house, where they know there’s people in it, go into the room whilst people are sleeping without a weapon.
“I definitely think they would have had something to protect themselves if they needed to.
“If I’d followed them downstairs, something worse could have happened.
“It could have gone horribly wrong, and this would be a different story altogether.
“Dan could have been badly hurt for trying to protect his family.”
The burglars may have been in the property for around 15 minutes before they were disturbed and were able to steal jewellery and cash.
Jacqueline went on: “At first, I wasn’t even thinking about what they had taken.
“We hadn’t even checked, but once I realised the kids were safe, it dawned on me that the sound I had heard was likely them dropping my jewellery.
“I said, ‘Oh my God, they were in our room Dan’.
“And then I ran up and I checked where I had my jewellery, and it was gone.”
JACQUELINE shot to fame aged 17 in 2010 when she took over as Lauren Branning on EastEnders.
At the National Television Awards in 2012, she won a Best Newcomer gong for her hard-hitting storylines.
It was announced in 2017 that Jacqueline would be leaving Albert Square.
The same year, she married former Towie star Dan Osborne, with whom she has two daughters.
She was then crowned I’m A Celebrity’s Queen of the Jungle in 2019.
On New Year’s Day, she made a long-awaited return to the EastEnders as Lauren came back to Walford after a six-year absence.
Jacqueline has also dabbled in fashion, producing her own clothing ranges.
Jacqueline’s £7,000 diamond engagement ring was taken along with a Cartier bracelet and ring.
But the 2019 I’m A Celebrity winner is upset the thieves stole her five-year-old daughter’s pocket money.
She said: “I get fuming about what they took from the kids — Mia’s little purse.
“It makes me so sad, honestly, more sad than anything else.
“She lost a tooth, so she had some money in her purse from the tooth fairy.
“Her bag was all open, and the money had even been taken out of her purse.
Of her snatched jewellery, Jacqueline said: “Dan had saved for months and months about ten years ago for that ring, and that was really important to me.
Once I realised the kids were safe, it dawned on me that the sound I had heard was likely them dropping my jewellery
Jacqueline Jossa
“That’s the thing I’m most upset about that’s gone because I feel like we all know that me and Dan have been through lots of ups and downs, but I really feel like the ring was the thing that was always a part of our relationship.
“So I’m gutted that’s gone.
“But again, I’m just glad it wasn’t a kid.
“My Cartier bracelet was a 30th birthday gift from Dan and my Cartier ring was a 30th birthday gift from my really good friends Adam and Jamie.
“It’s all of sentimental value.
“The ring has really stood the test of time, because I’ve dropped it down the bathroom sink one time.
“The ring has really gone through a lot.
“I don’t think we will get our stuff back but if one of us had woken up at a different time, or someone had chased someone, or, God forbid, they weren’t looking for jewellery, and they were looking for kids, it would have been much worse.”
As soon as the raiders left, Dan rang the police, who said such robberies were becoming more common.
Jacqueline said: “The police weren’t surprised at all.
“I think they’re dealing with a lot of similar incidents in Marbella.
“I think people were calling in that night saying something similar had happened to them.
“I don’t think there’s going to be much they can do about getting stuff back.
“It’s probably already gone and sold to somebody else.
“That’s just what they do.
“The burglars walked past the iPad and car keys, which I guess they have tracking on.
“I think they were quite experienced.
“I think they knew what they were doing.”
Talking about the couple’s reaction, she said: “I can be quite dramatic and Dan is really calm.
“So it works in that way, especially in these crisis moments.
“He’s been really amazingly calm.
“I don’t doubt he’s the best dad in the world, no one will ever be able to knock him for is how he is as a parent.
“He’s absolutely incredible.
“That’s who came through, and that’s my favourite version of him.
“I love them all.
“But that’s my favourite and it’s always family first.”
Now Jacqueline wants to warn other holidaymakers to take precautions while away from home.
She said: “This sort of thing can happen to anyone.
“People should always make sure they use a safe and that if you are renting a villa you know how to use the alarm system.
“It’s easy to be blasé when you’re relaxed on holiday.
“There wasn’t a safe in our room, and if there was my ring probably wouldn’t have been taken because I would have put it in there every night.”
Jacqueline and the family decided to stay in Spain for the rest of their holiday, but relocated to a hotel.
She went on: “A lot of English people in our hotel who read what happened have been really lovely, checking in on us asking, ‘Are you OK?’. And it does just go to show Brits are really warm and lovely.
“It’s made me feel there’s lots of friendly people here.
“I feel safe. Everyone’s been really kind to me, Dan and the kids.”
A spokesman for the National Police in Malaga said: “An investigation is ongoing.
“No arrests have yet been made.”
A source close to the inquiry added: “The probe is being led by a specialist anti-robbery squad based in Marbella, which will be reporting to a local court.
“The victims will be informed if arrests are made and any valuables or other stolen items are recovered.
“Police are working on the basis this was a crime carried out by a professional gang which had probably been watching the property and knew it was occupied.
“What is not yet clear is whether the criminals knew there were people inside when they broke in.”
