An anti-stalking restraining order has been placed on the former husband of Oxo advert actress Lynda Bellingham after he admitted harassment.

Ms Bellingham, who played the mother in the long-running series of TV commercials, received numerous abusive phone calls and visits from Nunzio Peluso after they divorced.

At Highgate magistrates court, on Wednesday, the 48-year-old Italian restaurateur admitted six charges under the Protection from Harassment Act.

Magistrates' chairman Anne Moodey told Peluso they had "seriously considered" sending him to prison, but decided against it after taking into account the best interests of his children.

Peluso was prohibited from going beyond the gate of Miss Bellingham's home in north London and also from making any threatening contact with her by any means for the next seven years.

He was also fined £4,000 and ordered to pay costs of £55.

The Oxo adverts, featuring family life around the dinner table, ran for 16 years until it was finally retired last September.