MacIntyre’s estranged wife ‘hid camera in a coat hook to spy on him’
HE has a reputation as a formidable undercover reporter willing to take on deadly gangs, traffickers and arms traders.
But now Donal MacIntyre, 52, has put his investigative skills to use closer to home after he found a spy camera allegedly planted by his estranged wife.
Ameera MacIntyre, 43, is accused of using her husband’s credit card to buy the device, disguised as a coat hook, from Amazon.
She then allegedly used a third party to install the hook, which cost around £10 (€11), in his home in Surrey, south-east England.
Mrs MacIntyre was arrested at home after the Dublin-born journalist found the hook. Computers were seized from her property.
‘Donal was shocked,’ a source told The Sun. ‘It looked totally innocuous but had a camera the size of a pinhead and was making digital recordings.’
Detectives are investigating how the device, which has a tiny lens at the top and a microchip to record sound, was planted.
Mother-of-four Mrs MacIntyre is alleged to have bought two other items using her husband’s credit card without his permission.
She was also held on suspicion of possessing cocaine and perverting the course of justice, and a second person was arrested.
Mrs MacIntyre, who denies the allegations, said last night: ‘You have no idea what’s going on.’
A source close to her added: ‘It’s beyond awful. These are serious allegations. It’s so damaging when she’s trying to rebuild her career.
‘The police want to know where the recorder’s come from. It’s up to them to get to the bottom of it.
‘The credit card was linked to the Amazon account, it had been on there for ten years.’
The couple, who were married for nine years and have three children, met at Turin airport in 2006 and tied the knot after a whirlwind three-month romance.
But their marriage got into trouble after Mrs MacIntyre found messages on her husband’s phone that she likened to ‘hardcore pornography’.
Mr MacIntyre denied he had been unfaithful and said his wife had misunderstood the series of text messages she found on his mobile. His wife turned detective, tracking his phone numbers and hiring a private investigator – who discovered the mystery woman.
The journalist eventually admitted the messages were for him but that nothing physical had happened. However, it did not prevent their marriage breaking down.
The couple went through a bitter break-up in 2015 and she publicly accused him of being ‘a lying, cheating scumbag’.
She said in an online rant: ‘How could you ruin this beautiful family.’ The pair are now believed to be undergoing divorce proceedings.
In February 2017, Mrs MacIntyre revealed she was pregnant with the child of Russell Shotts, a former SAS soldier, and their son was born in the summer.
Mr Shotts was previously married with three children but split from his wife, Emma, before starting the new relationship.
Mr MacIntyre has often been subjected to death threats after exposing criminals in BBC1 show MacIntyre Undercover. During their marriage, the couple moved house ten times in attempts to avoid enraged villains and others targeted in his TV series. The pair were attacked by drinkers in a wine bar after they turned on Mr MacIntyre for helping to convict Chelsea soccer hooligans.
Mr MacIntyre took part in reality show Dancing On Ice in 2009 and in 2014 he competed in TV’s The Jump. He now presents CBS Reality series Donal MacIntyre: Unsolved.
Surrey Police said: ‘Two people have been arrested in connection with an ongoing investigation.
‘Both individuals have been released while under further investigation.’
Mr MacIntyre did not reply to a request for comment.
‘Looked totally innocuous’ ‘Serious allegations’