Malcolm Potier, a 75-year-old from Sarratt, Hertfordshire, has begun his third prison sentence after being jailed for two years. He was found guilty of non-fatal strangulation in July 2026 at Southwark Crown Court.
The conviction stems from an incident on 7 June 2023, when Potier attacked 51-year-old Kirsty O'Donnell during a performance of the Queen musical 'We Will Rock You' at the London Coliseum. O'Donnell was throttled by Potier after she sang along to Queen hits.
The court heard that Potier told O'Donnell, "I'll show you what rude is" after his partner, theatre critic Lizzie Loveridge, told O'Donnell to "shut up." Potier then pressed down on O'Donnell's neck for up to five seconds.
O'Donnell stated that dealing with someone who had previously shown a willingness to use extreme violence made the experience particularly difficult. Potier's past includes two previous jail sentences for attempting to hire hitmen to murder his former partner and her significant other.
Potier, once a wealthy landowner who outbid Sir Mick Jagger for the Isle of Gigha in 1989, returned to the UK in 2015 after serving a 12-year sentence abroad for one of his plots.