GB News Presenter Ellie Costello speaks out about her stalking ordeal.

A GB News reporter who ended up being stalked by a man she interviewed on TV has spoken about her ordeal.
Broadcaster Ellie Costello, 29, said she was left shaking in terror by her stalker – who even targeted her while she covered the Queen’s funeral.
In a 16-month campaign of harassment, Leo Jones, also turned up at the TV studio where Ellie presents.
Her brave decision to go to court led to Jones, a former star of ITV show Airline, being handed a five-year restraining order this week by magistrates in St Albans.
“I wouldn’t wish what I went through on anyone,” Ellie said. “I’d urge anyone who finds themselves in this position to call the police. They will help you.”
Ellie told Anne Diamond and Stephen Dixon on GB News Breakfast today (SATURDAY) how her ordeal started around 16 months ago with creepy messages, and soon escalated.
She said: “I think I had quite a brave face when it first started. It first started here at work.
“The gentleman in question was a guest on our programme via Zoom. Then that led to us being connected on Twitter. He then started messaging me and it just started with him saying thanks for having me.
“I said you’re welcome, you were great. Just standard thank you’s, just polite chat. And then it escalated quite quickly into ‘I love you, you motivate me beyond words, you are just so special and so precious.”
She said: “Firstly, and it’s a bit funny, I think as women we would tend to just ignore it actually and think it’s going to go away and there is an element as a female reporter, I think you just kind of think it comes with the territory. You think you are going to get some creepy messages so I just ignored it to start with.
“And then after about, I’d say six or seven of these messages in a row, I just said look, this needs to stop, it’s making me really uncomfortable and this is so inappropriate, stop. And then that’s when it continued.
“What I didn’t realise was until I later spoke to the police that it was harassment at that point. I didn’t even realise I was being harassed at that point but if you tell someone to stop and they continue with that behaviour that you’ve asked them to stop, that is harassment. So, I didn’t even realise that.
“And then after that, I ended up blocking him on all forms of social media because the messages were getting completely out of hand and then he started sending flowers to the workplace. He showed up here in the office, he actually did get in. He managed to name some people here.”
“Obviously, he’d done his homework and he was allowed in. He was then taken out, but he did get in this close to me and that’s the impact. It’s like, you don’t know what that person wants with you.
“You are left thinking what do they want? Do they want a photograph? Do they want a hug? Do they want a hello? Or is it something sinister and that’s what that’s what was going on underneath the surface and I was putting on this brave face but actually, I was really quite scared. And I think I’ve only really realised that by taking it to court.”
Revealing how she was targeted on the day of the Queen’s funeral she continued: “So by this point it had been going on for over a year…16 months in total. And it was the Queen’s funeral. And you know, for us as journalists that means so much to us, and I loved Her Majesty and I wanted to do a really good job for this channel. I wanted to do a really good job. I’ve been working hard all morning.
“And as you do in this job, the first question is always Ellie, where are you this morning and I said where I was, and it later transpired that he must have followed me from that position that I so publicly reported and I headed down to the Long Walk in Windsor – 250,000 people were there by the way, a quarter of a million people.
“And I looked up and there he was like not even 10 feet away from my face and he had his hands in his pocket – he’s obviously been there for a while – he had his hands in his pockets, staring at me and just smiling with the most sinister smile.
“It was like he was enjoying watching me being so uncomfortable. I was by myself. I walked away from my cameraman and that was my fault. And I just, I just went into a panic attack.
“Luckily it was the Queen’s funeral so I managed to run to an officer, I didn’t know where that strength came from. But I just ran to the nearest police officer and I could still see him in my eyesight. I could still see where he was. I could not get out my words. I was just having a panic attack.
“And he got away, but later was arrested for what happened. He was held in a cell overnight. He pled guilty, which is also very good. And then I was given the choice to speak in court and I chose to because I felt like I let myself down that day. Because I should have said something or done something. But I felt like I had so I wanted him to hear what that day had done.”
On giving evidence in court Ellie recalled: “I was behind a curtain because I wasn’t brave enough to do it without a curtain. I think I feel like that was something he would have wanted, to see me or be close to me, or something like that. So I didn’t want him to have that but I did want him to hear what had done to me.
“So that’s what I decided to do and I just jotted down some notes and I spoke about ,you know, the paranoia, and after that particular incident I could see him everywhere, just because you’re so paranoid. And there were incidents I was walking home from.
“Walking from home one day I turned right, because I was almost certain that the man walking behind me was this person and I hid in my neighbor’s driveway just to protect myself from this man. It wasn’t even him. The man who walked past was someone else.”
Ellie spoke about the impact the experience has had on her life: “It’s been described to me as like living with an illness.
“It’s not a serious illness but like a cold, you know, like the symptoms were always there, it is almost a part of you and you’re so used to it and being on edge and looking around and feeling nervous that people approach you.
“I mean, I get approached a lot on the streets by job and people [saying] ‘hi Ellie!’ and now you are just so paranoid about who this person could be or what they want with you. So I really hope this conviction – and I’m one of the lucky ones, I always want to say that my case could be a lot worse.
“I have never really spoken about what happened to me. I mean, I’ve intentionally not really told my family anything so I wanted to protect them. Only a very close circle of people knew. I didn’t know it was going to be in the newspapers.
“That was something that was told to me the night before. So I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing now because of the reaction and it has thankfully been so supportive and kind, but I was worried about how that would be perceived by people.
“But I think it is really important to talk about because the amount of people I’ve spoken to people, my friends,the person who does my eyebrows, my hairdresser, friends from my old workplace have said, ‘I’ve also I’ve had a stalker for five years, 10 years, 15 years’, and that it’s not spoken about.
“It just seems to be so commonplace, but people think if they go to the police they’re not going to be taken seriously.
During today’s interview Ann Diamond revealed that she too had a problem with a stalker years ago and the police said they couldn’t do anything until he did something.
Ellie said: “Well, first of all, I’m really sorry that that happened to you because I know the impacts that it has on people.
“But yes, I have been very, very lucky and I feel guilty for saying that now when I hear the messages from people who have been suffering.
“But I felt guilty that I was treated so well but I hope that’s a sign that the police have moved on so well. I’d urge anyone going through this to report it to the police.”

Only five per cent of stalking cases end in conviction and Ellie is now campaigning for justice for women – and men – who suffer in silence.
The Suzy Lamplugh Trust, formed after the disappearance and murder of the London estate agent in 1986, warns victims are being put at risk because of ‘systemic’ failures.
Ellie added: “There are really dangerous and dark elements of stalking. It can start with something as a message, but it often escalates very quickly.
“It doesn’t just impact people on telly. This type of harassment is impacting women and men all over the UK.
“We shouldn’t normalise it. We shouldn’t allow it to escalate and continue. Don’t suffer in silence. The sooner you take it to the police, the more likely you are to get a conviction.”
She went on: “It was awful being in court, but I’m so proud that I did it. It was a really cathartic experience.
“I’m delighted with the outcome of the case. I can rest more easily knowing he can’t come near me for five years.
“It does change you. Even today I pulled up in the car and checked both sides to make sure he wasn’t there before I got out. You’re on edge. You’re on edge constantly.”