ITV weather presenter Ruth Dodsworth has spoken out about the coercive control she endured for almost a decade at the hands of her ex-husband. The 46-year-old broadcaster is to explore the form of abuse which is now considered a crime and her own experience in a controlling marriage in a new TV programme.
In Controlled By My Partner? The Hidden Abuse, previously unseen police footage will be shown of the moment Ms Dodsworth’s ex-husband was arrested. Nightclub owner Jonathan Wignall was sentenced to three years in prison last April after he pleaded guilty to stalking and coercive control.
He had subjected her to a nine-year campaign of abuse. The ITV programme will investigate what can be done to stop domestic abuse. On the show, Ms Dodsworth discusses how it took her years to recognise she was being abused and how her children’s fears for her safety made her realise Wignall’s behaviour was not normal.
