Jeremy Vine has shared his concern about the imminent release of his stalker, after they spent almost three years behind bars. The 59-year-old presenter, whose new murder mystery Murder On Line One sees online oddballs ingratiate themselves into a fictional Devon radio host’s life, has experienced his own stalking hell – and now faces the prospect of his stalker walking free in a matter of months.
Alex Belfield, who was a BBC Leeds host before setting up his own YouTube channel ‘The Voice of Reason’ was put behind bars in 2022 for five and a half years for stalking Vine. The Jeremy Vine Show host previously dubbed Belfield “the Jimmy Savile of trolling” after he sustained a campaign of harassment from the former radio host.
Belfield had harassed and trolled Vine on X, including making a false claim that Vine had ‘stolen’ from a late friend’s memorial fund. Belfield carried out his harassment via emails and on YouTube, and he is set to be released this June, having served half his sentence.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, Vine, who says he has several restraining orders against Belfield, shared his concern over the fact his stalker will soon be walking the streets. He said: “I expect he will set up again as ‘The Voice of Reason’. He’ll have his little merry band of followers.”
The father-of-two also admits that his scary experience with Belfield inspired the plot for his new thriller novel out on April 24, which sees a local talkshow host named Edward Temmis turn detective, as he investigates the mysterious deaths of his listeners. Drawing a comparison between his work of fiction and his own life, Vine said: “It must have done. It’s the idea that someone can reach you through your screen, and it’s a very real thing in the modern world.”
In September 2022, upon Belfied being sentenced, Vine confessed that his daughters were so terrified by his stalker – who shared the TV star’s address and invited online followers to turn up at his home – that they were too scared to leave the house. He said, “My youngest daughter was 13 then and she burst into tears when I told her there may be somebody who wants to hurt her.
“He doesn’t even know my daughter’s name, but she’s one of his victims.” Vine went on to say that it took a year before his young daughter could build up the confidence to leave the house again.
Belfield was convicted in September 2022 for four of eight stalking charges at Nottingham Crown Court. Another of his victims was BBC Radio Northampton presenter Bernard Spedding – who Belfield harassed for nine years.
While reading out the sentence, Mr Justice Saini, told Belfield: “[Spedding] was seconds away from taking his own life as a result of your conduct. You made this highly successful and confident radio presenter lose all joy in life and turned him into a shell.”
Accusing Belfield of “weaponising” the internet, the judge added: “The stalking you committed was not the conventional type which is popularised in the press. Your methods were, however, just as effective as a way of intimidating your victims, and were in many ways much harder to deal with.”
Mr Justice Saini also addressed the harassment Vine experienced in his sentencing. He said: “Although you at no stage committed any physical acts, Mr Vine considered himself and his family to be at risk from you and his followers.
“He had to ask his family to watch out for you and to take care in and around their home address.”
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