Friday, 2 April 2010

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Natalie Pinkham: How my stalker terrified me

TV's Natalie Pinkham reveals she's backing Claire's Campaign after living in fear

Natalie Pinkham felt sorry at first for her stalker

Bubbly TV presenter Natalie Pinkham was left terrified after being stalked for a year by a crazed fan twice her age.

Natalie, 30, says: ‘While he never made any physical threats, it was the not knowing what he might do that freaked me out. I've never felt so vulnerable in my whole life.

Natalie's ordeal began seven years ago when she started working in television in London.

‘My biggest problem is I always see the good in people and I'm a naturally friendly person,' she says. ‘I was probably pretty naïve, so when this guy started paying me attention, I was flattered.'

Despite never giving him any personal contact details, the man started calling and emailing Natalie on a daily basis.

‘If an unknown number came up on my phone I didn't answer because I guessed it was him,' she says. ‘But I did reply to the odd email. Never flirting, just being friendly.'

After a few months, his emails took a sinister turn.

‘He tried to guilt me into being his friend, writing that if I didn't reply it would ruin his week. I responded at first because I felt sorry for him. He told me he was depressed and his wife didn't understand him, so I naïvely tried to help by suggesting he see a doctor,' says Natalie.

‘He even sent a message implying he was about to commit suicide, threatening: "I've got a bottle of pills and a bottle of vodka. I'm about to polish them off if you don't reply."

'I felt so vulnerable. I'd recently moved to London, I was single for the first time in my life and living in a flat without any security. But I didn't tell my family because I knew how much they'd worry.'

The stalker then asked Natalie for her address, saying that he had a present for her.

‘Obviously I didn't give it to him, 
so instead he described the present to me - a homemade laminated scrapbook full of every single press cutting about me,' she recalls.

‘It was like that scene in The Bodyguard, where Whitney Houston's character has a creepy stalker with a locker full of memorabilia.'

Natalie's stalker soon emailed again, asking her if he could dedicate his novel to her. ‘I Googled it and was horrified 
to discover he'd written a violent thriller about a girl like me,' she says.

‘I completely freaked out and told my boss. He emailed this man telling him in no uncertain terms that if he didn't stop contacting me we'd go to the police. Amazingly, all contact just ended.'

Natalie heard from him just one more time when he tried to follow her on Twitter earlier this year. She recognised his name and blocked him immediately. Although still haunted by the experience, Natalie says she's learnt to ‘toughen up'.

‘It's forced me to be more streetwise, but it was extremely scary at the time,' she says. ‘If I could talk to my 23-year-old self I'd say: "Have the courage to stand up for yourself and don't feel like you're being a bitch or a bad person by being assertive." I'm so much stronger now.

‘That's why I'm supporting Claire's Campaign. Many women try to deal with this sort of thing on their own and don't talk to friends or report it to police because they don't want to be a drama queen. But if you're scared, you must tell
someone.'

Claire Waxman endured 7-years of harassment from a serial stalker who served just 8 weeks of a 16-week sentence. Now is supporting her campaign to change the stalking laws.

How to add your name to Claire's Campaign

Sign our official e-petition to the Government at the No 10 website. 

Email nowletters@ipcmedia.com (mark emails 'Claire's Campaign') to have your say about the campaign or tell us your stalking stories in complete confidence.

Join the Claire's Campaign Facebook Group - go to Facebook and search for Claire's Campaign - and leave your messages.

Maddy_Biddulph@ipcmedia.com