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Ex-Blue Peter host Gethin Jones recounts ‘terrifying’ stalking experience
The Welsh presenter, who hosted the children’s show from 2005 to 2008, was given security guards during the ordeal
Gethin Jones has recalled his “terrifying” experience of being stalked while hosting Blue Peter.
The Welsh presenter, 45, who hosted the children’s show from 2005 to 2008, was given security guards during the ordeal, it has emerged.
But he admitted that his managers may have held back from him the full details of the threat the stalker posed.
Asked if he had ever had a stalker, he told the Rig Biz podcast: “I did, back in Blue Peter. It was weird to the point where I had some security, which I thought was a lot, but they felt ... you know, obviously they knew stuff that I didn’t.”
Describing the experience as “terrifying”, he added: “Yeah, of course. You know, you go and do your job every day thinking that’s it and then for whatever reason.
“The medium of TV is really powerful and people think they know you really well and there’s occasions where you maybe don’t get back to someone because you just don’t know them and they find that offensive.”
Jones, who now presents the BBC’s Morning Live and in March raised more than £1 million for Comic Relief following a 24-hour danceathon, said he was “really careful” about fan mail and the many messages he receives online.
“There are people who’ve got sort of issues as well, so you’ve got to be really careful,” he said.
“I had one woman who was messaging me and I sort of looked at it and thought, ‘Ah, this is not funny’ and I passed it on to the relevant people just to make sure she was OK, because she obviously had some mental issues.
“Which again, bigger conversation with social media, it just blows my mind that it is not regulated better for that reason, it’s so scary.”
Jones said that he sometimes receives explicit images from fans, as well as questions such as “what’s your favourite cheese?”, “can I have your socks?” and “what watch are you wearing?”’.
Other BBC presenters have also faced stalking experiences. Alex Belfield, a former BBC radio presenter, was jailed after stalking Jeremy Vine, the Radio 2 host. Edward Vines was jailed after a 30-year obsession with Emily Maitlis, the former BBC Newsnight host.