The ex-wife of comedian Paul Whitehouse faced “completely inhumane” press intrusion after her cancer diagnosis, she has told the High Court in her claim against the publisher of the Mirror.
Fiona Wightman is one of several people suing Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) who claim journalists at its titles – The Daily and Sunday Mirror and the Sunday People – were linked to methods including phone hacking, so-called “blagging” or gaining information by deception and use of private investigators for unlawful activities.
Ms Wightman entered a witness box at the High Court in London on Wednesday to give evidence in her claim, where she said that following a diagnosis and surgery for ovarian cancer, she began to be doorstepped by journalists and asked to talk about her illness.
Ms Wightman said the doorstepping by journalists “reminded” her of “how terrified I’d been at the beginning”, adding she felt “really overwhelmed and under pressure”.
She also told the court a medical “blagger” used by MGN had called her doctor’s secretary, pretending to need access to her medical records, with the secretary later describing the call as “fishy”.
MGN has previously “unreservedly” apologised for this, telling the court the attempt was unsuccessful and no stories were published in MGN titles using unlawfully gained information about her illness.
In her witness statement, Ms Wightman said she felt “totally invaded and confused”, and allegations that MGN journalists were listening to her voicemails were “absolutely extraordinary”.
She continued in her written evidence: “The idea that somebody thought ‘there is a young woman with cancer who happens to be married to someone famous, we deserve to know about this and see if we can get a story about this’ is really indefensible.”
Ms Wightman added: “It was deeply shocking to see the invoices and finally understand who it had been that had called my doctor’s secretary, it’s completely inhumane.
“I was still feeling upset and anxious, having a cancer diagnosis and two little kids. I was obviously fragile. How could they do that to someone?”
Her barrister David Sherborne previously said Mr Whitehouse and Ms Wightman, who have two daughters together, met at a very young age and married in 1992.
The comedian, who rose to fame in The Fast Show comedy TV programme, later formed a relationship with a work colleague who became pregnant, the court was told.
Ms Wightman and Mr Whitehouse separated in 2000 and were divorced three years later.
In his evidence in support of his ex-wife’s claim, Mr Whitehouse described the intrusion Ms Wightman faced as “beyond belief”.
The comedian later alleged that MGN journalists were monitoring the landline of their family home in north London.
“It is disturbing. MGN’s journalists were digging into Fiona, myself and our family members, who had nothing to do with anything,” Mr Whitehouse said.
Mr Whitehouse later said: “It is called a private life for a reason … MGN’s journalists overstepped the mark.”
Ms Wightman is bringing her claim against the publisher over two Daily Mirror articles, including one from October 2000 which her lawyers say involved journalists unlawfully obtaining “highly private details surrounding the breakdown of her marriage to Mr Whitehouse”.
In her written evidence, she described the first piece, published on 30 October 2000, as an “extremely intrusive article about the breakdown of my relationship”.
Ms Wightman added: “It took years for me to regain my confidence. I was trying to get strong again and for MGN to publish something like this – so incredibly private – at a time when I was trying to recover my health really is despicable.”
Discussing the second article about the couple’s separation, published in April 2002, Ms Wightman said: “At the time, I was livid and heartbroken. But I certainly would not have said that to the press. Paul took care of us; he was funny and kind, and still is.”
Andrew Green, for MGN, told Ms Wightman the publisher had admitted “there were a number of occasions when journalists instructed private investigators to obtain your personal information unlawfully”.
He added that MGN “unreservedly apologises” for this, adding: “It shouldn’t have happened, it did and it won’t happen again.”
However, Mr Green said there was “simply no evidence whatsoever” that Ms Wightman’s voicemails were intercepted, adding of Mr Whitehouse that there was also “no evidence that he was ever hacked”.
MGN also say Ms Wightman’s claim has been brought too late.
The court heard Ms Wightman was told about her ex-husband’s relationship with another woman in 1998, with the barrister suggesting MGN journalists were “not particularly quick” to learn about the separation.
“Mr Whitehouse having an affair and a child with another woman would have been a very much bigger story,” he said.
He said the October 2000 article “gets the reason for the separation entirely wrong”, adding that “if MGN’s journalists had intercepted your voicemails at this time they would have been writing a very different article”.
Ms Wightman’s case is one of four representative claims being heard in London, alongside similar claims brought by the Duke of Sussex, Coronation Street actor Michael Turner, known professionally as Michael Le Vell, and Hollyoaks actress Nikki Sanderson.
