Stalker’s ‘sinister’ tweets made Loose Women star Christine fear for her life
LOOSE Women star Christine Lampard told yesterday of the “sinister and dark” messages she was sent by an obsessed stalker which left her fearing for her life.
The TV presenter told a court how in one chilling Twitter message Christof King warned that he was sharpening the nails that would be used for her crucifixion.
She told how, in another tweet, the aspiring actor told her he was planning the words that would be written on her tombstone.
Christine, 39, spoke of her twoyear nightmare ordeal from behind a screen as she gave evidence against King at Isleworth Crown Court yesterday.
The pregnant star was hidden behind a red curtain as she spent 30 minutes giving testimony from the witness box during the Newton hearing – during which a judge sits without a jury and tries to ascertain which party is telling the truth.
She could be seen only by Judge Robin Johnson, defence and prosecuting counsel and her former footballer husband Frank, 39. The ex-England and Chelsea star, who was wearing a black T-shirt and dark trousers, sat in a corner of the courtroom as his wife of three years gave evidence.
The court heard King, 39, bombarded Christine with letters and turned up at the couple’s £10million home in Chelsea.
On one occasion Christine was so afraid she hid in a bedroom as he stood outside the property.
Prosecutor Nicholas Dunham said that as the stalking continued Frank Lampard – who was last week appointed manager of Derby County – also began to fear for the safety of his daughters, aged 10 and 12.
Christine told the court the messages began in October 2015.
Her biggest concern, she said, was that she works mostly on live TV, meaning it is easy to figure out when she will be leaving her workplace.
She said: “I began to notice them because there were so many. Several were incoherent waffle. He would include my employer ITV, and my husband in the tweet. I noticed sev- eral tweets became sinister and dark and that was what made me sit up.
“One was about how he was sharpening nails that would be used for my crucifixion.
“The other was what was going to be written on my tombstone.”
Christine said there was a break of two months before she received a letter from King. He later showed up at the couple’s home and Frank went outside and spoke to King for “at least seven minutes”.
Christine said there were no threats in letters King sent her.
But she added: “I felt very uneasy with the letters. They are incredibly odd, including one written to my dog. It was this sense where he felt a certain destiny to talk to me which is clearly not normal.”
In one letter, King told Christine he wanted help getting into the TV industry.
The court heard King once applied for work experience on The One Show, “to a certain extent” in the hope of meeting Christine when she presented the BBC programme.
He described her as “the most stunningly beautiful person I have ever seen”. King, of Kilburn, northwest London, admitted stalking Christine but denies sending her the messages on Twitter.
Giving evidence, grey-haired King said he had “always” been attracted to Christine and insisted he had never intended to be malicious.
He said: “This is why, in my police interview, I was genuinely shocked. I am absolutely mortified that it has come to this.”
The hearing continues.