Corrie's Nicola Thorp calls for legal changes after two-year stalker ordeal
Note: This article contains references to stalking and sexual assault.
Former Coronation Street star Nicola Thorp has opened up on the most chilling aspect of her two-year stalking ordeal.
During a chat on Good Morning Britain, the Nicola Rubinstein actress looked back on being harassed by Ravinderjit Dhillon, a man who used 25 aliases to contact her online and threatened to choke and rape her. He was convicted of stalking involving fear of violence after a trial in April this year.
Thorp, who's also a women's rights campaigner, explained she was terrified about not knowing what her stalker looked like.
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"Because with these kinds of crimes, when he's kept anonymous, they become every single person that you meet," she told hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls.
"He was every guy at a bus stop. He was the person at work who looked at me funny. He was the guy in the supermarket. He just became everybody."
The soap star only learnt Dhillon's name when a stalking protection order was taken out against him, allowing for his identity to be finally revealed. She then recalled "begging" the police to show her a picture of her stalker, which they eventually did after months.
"I begged them [police], 'Please can you just show me a photograph of him?' because he had quite a common name. I tried to find him on Facebook," she said.
"They eventually showed me a photograph and said we can only show you here in the police station," she added.
Thorp almost came face to face with Dhillon in court at his sentencing earlier this year.
"You have to queue before you go inside and you go through security. You give your name to the security guard as you're going through. I was actually stood behind him in the queue," she said.
"He gave his name to the security guard at which point I just completely froze because that was him. That's the man who had harassed and stalked me since 2018. And he was right there in front of me."
Following her ordeal, Thorp urged authorities to do more to support the victims, whilst calling on men to change their online behaviour.
"It is on men to change their behaviour and also for the police and the authorities to give us the tools to be able to protect ourselves," she said.
"I just wish the focus wasn't just on punishing the perpetrator but helping the victim through the process as well."
The police told GMB that the investigation was hampered by the "complex and protracted" process of obtaining information from social media companies in order to prove Dhillon was the man who'd sent messages to Thorp.
We would encourage anyone who identifies with the topics raised in this article to reach out. Call 999 if you or anyone you know is in immediate danger, or report any concerning situations using UK government resources or the Paladin National Stalking Advocacy Service. The National Stalking Helpline is open 9.30am-4pm on weekdays (and until 8pm on Wednesdays) on 0808 802 0300.
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