Appeal targets celebrity stalker

Broadcaster Joan Bakewell has been a target

Police are to appeal for help in catching the sender of thousands of pornographic letters who has stalked a number of female celebrities for more than 20 years.

Broadcaster and writer Joan Bakewell and Radio 4 presenter Sue MacGregor will talk for the first time on the BBC's Crimewatch UK programme about the obscene letters they have been receiving from the same anonymous person.

The ladies are all in the public eye and from a certain era

Scotland Yard

Other well-known figures who have been deluged with letters include actresses Dame Diana Rigg, Nyree Dawn Porter, Moira Lister, and Pan's People dancer Dee Dee Wilde.

Detective Sergeant Shirley McGlone of the Metropolitan Police said that since publicising the Crimewatch appeal, police had received calls from several other women in the public eye.

She said the number of victims could be as high as 50.

Detectives say the letters are always to women in the public eye, who all found fame at around the same time, and who in some cases have been receiving them for more than 20 years.

Ms McGlone said: "This is a very unusual case, which has been going on for a number of years.

Detectives hope a viewer will recognise the distinctive handwriting

"The ladies are all in the public eye and from a certain era, they have all had enough of this and all want it to stop."

Most of the letters are sent in airmail envelopes and are usually sent from the north west of England - generally postmarked from Bury, Bolton, Manchester and Wigan and often sent in airmail envelopes.

While police believe the celebrities are not in any physical danger, they said the level of harassment amounted to a "psychological assault".

Handwriting sample

Ms MacGregor said: "This has gone on long enough, it's more than a nuisance and it's actually against the law."

Ms Porter added: "In my opinion he is the victim, not us. He needs help."

Crimewatch UK, to be broadcast at 2105BST on Wednesday, will screen a sample of the handwriting on show in the hope that someone will recognise it.

Actress Diana Rigg has received obscene letters

A BBC spokesman said that due to the extreme language involved only a very limited number of words were appropriate for TV viewing.

But those that are shown will hopefully be recognisable to anybody who may have seen the writing before, he added.

Ms McGlone said she was interested to hear from anyone who had noticed someone buying a large quantity of airmail envelopes.

Anyone with information can call West End Central Police Station on 0207 321 8878 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.