Fern Britton has shared an Instagram reel telling fans about an upsetting experience she had with a member of the paparazzi.
Posting to her page on the social media platform, the novelist and former This Morning host recounted an interaction with a man she identified as George Bamby, a self-described undercover journalist.
For years, Bamby was thought to be the son of notorious prisoner Charles Bronson, but in March, he claimed that their familial relationship was entirely fabricated for the sake of a PR stunt.
Britton claimed to have been photographed by Bamby on several occasions throughout her years in the public eye in a clip posted on Instagram on Tuesday (23 March).
Yet, she claimed to have not interacted with him in years before their recent run-in.
“I’ve just had one of those distressing moments out of the blue,” she explained in her video. “There’s a pap, his name is George Bamby.
“He’s a menace, and he’ll be proud to hear me say that. He’s an absolute menace.”
Britton went on to claim that Bamby used to have a vehicle with holes in the sides, through which he stuck a lens to take pictures from a distance.
“I just saw them, up in my little village,” she continued, referring to Bamby and his “spotter” who helps him keep an eye on his picture target. “I knew it was him, I haven’t seen him for years. He wrote me a letter a little while ago saying, ‘I’m so sorry for everything I did to you, I feel so ashamed, I’ve found religion, I feel awful.’ Hmm!”
Fern Britton on Instagram
(Instagram / Fern Britton)
Britton said she eventually came face to face with Bamby when she attempted to escape his camera by getting in the back of a delivery van. “I’m afraid I used every swear word I could think of,” she admitted.
She added that he claimed to have been looking for Hugh Grant, before appealing to publications not to use any pictures of her taken by Bamby.
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“If you see a picture of me looking like this – horrible, terrible, scared. It’s very scary this stuff, you know. If you see that, you’ll know that it’s under duress. Magazines, if you print that picture, you’re wrong.”
On Twitter, Britton made a succinct post about the interaction that reads: “A slimy paparazzi has left me really distressed and shaking. Home now. But scared to leave the house in case he’s out there.”
The Independent has reached out to George Bamby for comment.
Britton previously hosted This Morning with Phillip Schofield, before leaving her role in 2009. Schofield’s swift departure from the show last week remains a topic of significant discussion among fans.
You can read updates as they happen here.