LBC journalist and broadcaster Shelagh Fogarty is launching a new podcast, The Followers where she takes listeners through her full account of being stalked and asks what it will take to stop this growing crime.
Along the way in this limited five-part series, Shelagh speaks to psychologists, solicitors, police officers and other victims to better understand the effects of the crime and the action needed to end stalking.
Shelagh is a successful, award-winning journalist with a reputation for level-headed, principled journalism. The former BBC Radio 5 Live host began her LBC career as a guest presenter in 2014, and her balanced and calm approach to conversations on current affairs soon earned her a permanent role.
Unfortunately, it was this calm approach which led to the most harrowing ordeal of Shelagh’s life, when a man became obsessed with the very thing she’d built a career from – her voice.
In 2017, she began to notice the same face appearing in crowds, on the tube, outside her work. She dismissed it at first, but then the appearances became more and more noticeable – he was there when she met friends, when she travelled across London, at her local train station, and once, he was standing right outside her home.
Shelagh talks about the stages she went through: dismissing it, fearing it, and feeling powerless as she was forced to live a limited life. In a wider conversation, she looks at societal views, misogyny and popular media tropes that may be enabling stalkers to commit crimes without intervention.
Guests on The Followers, include Solicitor Rachel Horman who represents victims of stalking, clinical Psychologist Dr. Alan Underwood who explains the different categories of stalkers, founder of a National Stalking Advocacy Service, Laura Richards, who demonstrates why there is still a great need for improvement in justice for stalking victims and stalking victim Tracy Morgan who explains how being stalked for decades cost her everything: her home, marriage, family and career.
The Followers with Shelagh Fogarty will be available on Global Player from 4 July.
