Rosamund Pike Punched in London Street Mugging as Phone Snatching Epidemic Spirals

Gone Girl and James Bond, Wheel Of Time actress Rosamund Pike has revealed a harrowing personal experience as a victim of London’s spiraling mobile phone theft epidemic. Speaking on Magic Radio, the star shared that she was punched in the face by a mugger on a bicycle who snatched her phone while she was on a call with her mother.

Rosamund Pike described the incident as “15 minutes of hell,” recalling how the mugger struck her in the cheek and ripped the phone from her hand, leaving her bruised and shaken. “The phone was snatched so all [my mother] heard was me scream and a thud, and the phone went dead,” she said.

The Oscar-nominated actress, who rose to fame in Die Another Day, Gone Girl and Wheel of Time, was walking down a London street at the time. Her mother, Caroline Friend, was left terrified as the call abruptly ended. Rosamund Pike was eventually able to borrow another phone to reassure her mother she was safe.

This chilling revelation adds to a growing list of celebrities targeted in London’s ongoing phone snatching crisis. Former tennis champion Annabel Croft, 57, recounted being mugged outside King’s Cross Station last June by a masked cyclist who attempted to steal her phone. Meanwhile, BBC presenter Kym Marsh also had her phone forcibly taken in broad daylight earlier this year.

According to Metropolitan Police data, over 70,000 mobile phones were stolen in London in 2023—that’s one every six minutes. The City of Westminster, Camden, and Southwark were among the hardest-hit boroughs. Criminals, often using e-bikes or mopeds, execute rapid drive-by snatches, sometimes using violence to overpower victims.

Disturbing footage of such attacks shows thieves swerving toward pedestrians, yanking phones from their hands, and vanishing in seconds. One criminal reportedly stole 24 phones in a single morning before being apprehended.

Rosamund Pike in Amazon Prime Video’s The Wheel Of Time

Despite the alarming trend, authorities report that targeted police operations and increased surveillance have led to a 43% decrease in mobile phone thefts as of late 2023. The Mayor’s office and the Metropolitan Police have pledged to continue working with phone companies and law enforcement to dismantle resale networks and make stolen phones harder to repurpose.

Kaya Comer-Schwartz, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, emphasized the need for tech companies to do more: “As demand for high-value phones grows, we must make them worthless to thieves.”

Rosamund Pike’s unsettling story is a stark reminder that no one—celebrity or civilian—is immune from London’s surging wave of street crime. As city officials ramp up efforts to curb phone thefts, citizens are urged to remain vigilant, avoid phone use in public, and register devices on national mobile phone databases to aid recovery if stolen.

The incident leaves one haunting question: If someone like Rosamund Pike can be attacked mid-conversation, who’s really safe on London’s streets?