Former BBC Breakfast presenter, Louise Minchin, has opened up about her struggles following her stalking ordeal - and has said she will never share the "traumatising" messages she received, not even with her husband. The star, who returned to the Breakfast sofa to wave Dan Walker off, was the victim of stalking in July 2020. The man responsible was ultimately sent to prison but now, Louise has described how the incident affected her.
Louise told YOU Magazine : "I don’t speak about it lightly; it was a horrific time that has had a massive impact on our family." Louise, 53, and her daughter, Mia, had distressing messages left on their social media platforms.
In one message, stalker Carl Davies wrote: “Move or you’re f***ed,” while in another he said: “Your daughter will definitely be raped,” followed by their home address, the village they lived in and the cars that were in their driveway at the time. Louise has said that despite the threats, she "wasn't going to let anyone harm [her] family." Commenting on one of Louise's photos, Davies said: “You can see your garden from there,” showing that he was aware of where they lived.
Read more: Dan Walker's final BBC Breakfast show hit by lack of sleep and travel woes
Two years on from the incident, Louise has been sharing her experiences in a bid to raise awareness about stalking. She said: ‘"This can happen to anyone, it can strike any life. I am just one person in an enormous group – [according to the ONS crime survey] around 1.5 million people in the UK are affected by stalking annually – and the 'good' outcome of my case, with my stalker now serving a prison sentence, only happens in a very small percentage of cases."
Despite being the subject of investigation, Louise has decided to never share explicitly what was said by her stalker. The messages, which she called, "traumatising" haven't even been shared with her husband, David. She said that during the incident, David went into "super-protective mode" in a bid to protect his wife and daughter. Louise has described how she felt like a "prisoner in [her own] home" during the period.
Louise left BBC Breakfast in September 2021 but in the immediate aftermath of her stalking, had considered leaving a year earlier. She said: "I felt so guilty that my job had brought this into my family’s life. I asked myself why would I do a job where someone goes after my children, why would I do this to my family? Being a mother has always been my number one job and all I cared about was protecting them, so I was out. Nothing was worth this."
Last December, Davies appeared in Mold Crown Court, pleading guilty to "causing alarm and distress" to both Louise and daughter Mia. Despite the fact that the incident happened over 17 months ago, Louise has now talked about how the incident has had a huge impact on her life.
"Mia and I went on to have counselling and I found that very useful after this thing had come out of the blue and shaken up my life. It’s helped me understand what I can and can’t control – and not dwell on the latter– and to be a bit more emotionally measured about what happened." she said.
Since the incident, Louise has gone on to raise awareness for stalking and earlier this year, presented ITV documentary, The Truth About Stalking, where she found out more about the history of the ordeal.
The star, who recently released her autobiography: Dare to Tri, ended up staying on BBC Breakfast for another year after the incident, defeated not by her ordeal but by "early mornings". Read more here about what happened when Louise's co-presenter, Dan Walker left BBC Breakfast on Tuesday, May 17.
