COUNTDOWN star Rachel Riley felt threatened by a convicted stalker who accused her of being the “ringleader of a cult of celebrities”, a court heard.
She was mentioned more than 200 times in 855 blog posts published by Felicity Lowde.
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During the campaign of harassment, Rachel was accused by Lowde, 59, of heading an “international conspiracy” involving JK Rowling, Stephen Fry and Katie Hopkins. She claimed they communicated via a secret code on social media.
In another bizarre post, Lowde accused Rachel of having a “sexual obsession with toilets”.
She also referred to the Israel-Gaza conflict and said 39-year-old Rachel, who is Jewish, was “complicit in genocide”, City of London magistrates heard.
The comments came to light when Lowde tried to sue Rachel last year.
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She accused the TV presenter, whom she had never met, of “trying to defraud her creative work and family history” and trying to “hijack her identity”.
Lowde is said to have lodged at least 64 legal cases in the past year. TV presenter Piers Morgan compared her to Netflix’s Baby Reindeer stalker after she made wild claims against him.
Rachel reported Lowde, who has four convictions for stalking and harassment, and she was arrested.
The Met Police applied for a stalking protection order on Rachel’s behalf.
Magistrates chair Dr Ian Cole told Lowde: “Ms Riley said she fears for her safety.”
Lowde, of Chelsea, West London, was banned from contacting Rachel for life and from referring to her on social media.
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She could go to jail if she breaches the order.
