Jacqueline Jossa breaks her silence on terrifying £20,000 raid at Marbella holiday villa as recalls the heart-stopping moment she thought her children had been kidnapped

Jacqueline Jossa has broken her silence on the terrifying raid at her Marbella holiday villa earlier this month, revealing her fears that her children had been kidnapped.

Two masked robbers broke into the holiday rental where the EastEnders actress, 31, and her former TOWIE star husband Dan Osborne, 33, were staying with their children. 

They stole £20,000 of jewellery and belongings, including her engagement ring, as they slept. 

And speaking out after the robbery, Jacqueline has recalled the heart-stopping moment she thought her children had been kidnapped as she stumbled across the thieves in the middle of the night.

Detailing her horrific ordeal with The Sun, Jacqueline said: ‘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.’

Two masked robbers broke into the holiday rental where the EastEnders actress, 31, and her TOWIE star husband Dan Osborne, 33, were staying with their children

The star went onto say that after realising they were being robbed, she immediately woke her husband Dan, who legged it downstairs and grabbed snooker cue to protect his family.

However, the thieves had already ran off after spotting Jacqueline and escaped through the back door before being driven off in a waiting getaway car. 

The actress then ‘frantically ran’ to check on her children to make sure they were safe and despite seeing them tucked up in their beds, she had to touch them to ‘reassure’ herself they were there.

Reliving the moment, she continued: ‘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.’

The star added that she was ‘grateful’ that she was the one to stumble across the robbers, because if one of the children had seen the masked men, they may have been ‘scarred for life’, with Jacqueline adding that she’s probably scarred herself. 

She also breathed a sigh of relief that the situation didn’t take a more serious turn as she later spotted one of the assailants carrying something ‘long and sharp’ in the CCTV, with Jacqueline unsure if it was a knife or a ‘massive screwdriver’. 

The EastEnders favourite shared with the publication that things could have ‘gone horribly wrong’ should the men have confronted herself or Dan with a weapon, remarking that this could’ve been ‘a different story altogether’.

Meanwhile, Jacqueline slammed the heartless thieves as she also revealed they made off with her five-year-old daughter’s tooth fairy money.

Speaking out after the robbery, Jacqueline recalled the heart-stopping moment she thought her children had been kidnapped as she stumbled across the thieves in the middle of the night 

‘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?’

The actress then ‘frantically ran’ to check on her children to make sure they were safe and despite seeing them tucked up in their beds, she had to touch them to ‘reassure’ herself they were there 

Meanwhile, Jacqueline slammed the heartless thieves as she also revealed they made off with her five-year-old daughter’s tooth fairy money [pictured with Mia, 5]

Sharing her anger, she ranted: ‘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. Bless her.’

The soap star and Dan have chosen not to reveal the truth to their young family and instead replaced the money stolen from Mia, with the youngster oblivious about what happened with her tooth fairy cash. 

The couple are reported to have woken up to the thieves rummaging through the Marbella property. While nobody was harmed, sources say Jacqueline and Dan have been left ‘shaken up’ by the encounter. 

Jacqueline, who plays Lauren Branning in the BBC soap, had been documenting her holiday for her Instagram followers, with the trip seeing them travel with their extended families along with daughters Ella, nine and Mia – along with Dan’s son Teddy, 10.

While she was also seen enjoying a beach day in Marbella with her girls amid their two-week getaway in the sun.

Spanish police are reported to be investigating the raid, while a vehicle belonging to a security firm has been seen outside the villa.

Along with the engagement ring, the thugs are reported to have snatched handbags and wads of cash plucked from their kids’ backpacks. They are said to have kept the robbery from the children to avoid scaring them. 

Jacqueline had been documenting her holiday for her Instagram followers, with the trip seeing them travel with their extended families along with daughters Ella, nine and Mia, five – along with Dan’s son Teddy, 10

While she was also seen enjoying a beach day in Marbella with her girls amid their two-week getaway in the sun 

On Tuesday, Jaqueline and Dan looked visibly distressed as they left a Marbella police station after filing a report 

Representatives for Jossa have been contacted for comment. 

A friend told The Sun of the burglary: ‘The villa has good security and Jacqueline and Dan have got CCTV. They think it took about ten minutes for the burglars to break in. It’s possible the men were in the property for 15 minutes. Jacqueline said it was totally silent. It was only when a flash of a torch woke her up did they realise something had happened.’ 

On Tuesday, Jaqueline and Dan looked visibly distressed as they left a Marbella police station after filing a report. 

The couple leaned on each other for support, with Dan wrapping a protective arm around his wife. 

The couple got married in 2017 – shortly before her exit from the soap was confirmed by EastEnders bosses.

She then briefly returned to the show at the end of 2022 for the funeral of Dot Cotton following the death of actress June Brown earlier that year, before making a permanent return in October last year.

The robbery is the latest in a string of high-profile burglaries and muggings with Nick Grimshaw and his mother reportedly gassed at their rented Ibiza villa last week (Pictured in London in February 2017)

The high-profile robbery comes after another BBC star, former Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw, was targeted by robbers who allegedly gassed him and his 81-year-old mother Eileen in their rented Ibiza villa in order to steal from the pair.  

 The DJ was celebrating his 40th birthday with his family when the property was targeted by the gang who have hit a number of villas occupied by wealthy tourists over the last year.

Nick and his mum Eileen were sedated after the gang pumped a sedative gas into the property where the star was sleeping – and waited for it to take effect before they broke in wearing hazmat suits and turned the villa over.

No one is said to have been hurt in the incident, although it is believed some items were stolen in the raid.