Police have launched an investigation into a blackmail plot against Alison Hammond after the presenter reportedly told friends she “couldn’t keep paying her vile blackmailer” after he demanded £3,500 from her.
The presenter, 48, allegedly handed over thousands of pounds in cash to a former friend for a terrifying 8-month trial.
The blackmailer was said to have threatened to make false details of his private life public.
Alison is reportedly “fearful for the safety of her family” after bravely putting a stop to the dark blackmail and extortion plot.
But West Midlands Police have today confirmed that they have launched an investigation into the plot.
Awful: Alison Hammond, 48, has revealed she “couldn’t keep paying her vile blackmailer” after she demanded £3,500 following a terrifying 8-month trial
Police said today that they “take reports of this kind very seriously” and that “investigations are progressing rapidly.”
According SunAlison also handed over a £5,000 BMW after they threatened to “end her career” with the false information.
The This Morning presenter plucked up the courage to report the incident to the police earlier this week, telling the publication she had “come to the end”.
Alison reported the situation to West Midlands Police on Tuesday of this week, where she showed detectives the messages she had received from him.
The new host of Great British Bake Off is said to have fought back tears as she told her friend: ‘I trusted this guy who was apparently only interested in my money.
I thought you valued our friendship. Now I know that he only wanted me to finance his life of luxury’, Sun reports.
It is claimed that the man took advantage of Alison’s kind nature and they forged an unlikely friendship despite their drug problems.
Alison reportedly told her friend that he brought the demands to her out of the blue after she had been happy to try to help him and spend money on him.
It is claimed that she tried to cut ties with him several times, but he managed to return to her life.
Things came to a boil for Alison when she is reported to have told a colleague last week: “She sent me a message saying if I didn’t give her £3,500 I’d go broke.”
I was stunned. I’m still in shock. Having a friend looking to blackmail and extort me is just heartbreaking. I had to realize that I had reached the end and go to the police.
Terrifying: She is said to be ‘fearful for her family’s safety’ after bravely putting an end to the dark blackmail and extortion plot (pictured June)
Demands: According to The Sun, Alison had also handed over a £5,000 BMW after they threatened to ‘end her career’ with the false information
Terrifying: It is claimed that she tried to cut ties with him multiple times, but he managed to get back into her life.
However, Alison is said to be “genuinely scared” of any retaliation from the man now that she has stopped giving him money and has gone to the authorities.
MailOnline has contacted a representative for Alison for comment.
It comes after Alison revealed the heartbreaking reason she broke down in tears after landing her new role on the Great British Bake Off.
The presenter said that the moment was “bittersweet” since the Channel 4 program was one of her mother’s favorite programs.
Alison’s mother, Maria, who was from Guyana, tragically died in January 2020 of lung and liver cancer.
She explained how she felt ‘devastated’ that her mother would never see her on the show and how the thought of it made her emotional.
In an interview with SunAlison said: ‘It was one of her favorite shows. It makes me very emotional to even say it.
Alison continued: “It’s something really important and the fact that she can’t see it. I’m devastated, it’s bittersweet.
Adding the announcement, he detailed: ‘It was so exciting, I heard the news about three weeks before I announced it. When it leaked, guess whose birthday it was? My mother’s.
Announcing the sad news that his mother had passed away, the former Big Brother star shared a series of photos of his mother, one of which showed her smiling in a yellow top while sitting on a hospital bed.
Alison wrote: ‘I dedicate Valentine’s Day to my beautiful and wonderful Mother Mary, who passed away from lung and liver cancer.’
“Yesterday my family and I celebrated her incredible life and buried her in a beautiful ceremony that she would have been proud of.
‘Thank you mom for giving me the strength to carry on knowing that you are well and with God in heaven now. I will always remember you and try to make you proud. I love you mom.’
‘Bittersweet’: Comes after Alison revealed the heartbreaking reason she broke down in tears after landing her new role on the Great British Bake Off
Upset: The presenter said the moment was ‘bittersweet’ as the Channel 4 show was one of her mother’s favorite shows – her mother Maria died tragically in January 2020 of cancer.
Replacement secured: Matt Lucas resigned from Great British Bake Off in December and Alison took over
Tragically, Alison’s father died four months later and Alison shared on social media that she didn’t get to spend as much time with him as she would have liked.
Alison confirmed that she is the new host of The Great British Bake Off, taking over from outgoing comedian Matt Lucas, earlier this month.
The This Morning presenter will join comedian Noel Fielding when the Channel 4 show begins filming this summer.
‘Alison is a great choice. She will bring warmth and humor to the store in spades. We laugh just thinking about it,” a source told The Mirror.
Alison will make history as the first non-white host or judge in the show’s 14-year history.
Matt co-hosted the Channel 4 show along with Noel Fielding from 2020, but decided his time on the show had come to an end.
New Great British Bake Off co-host Alison has revealed that not a single slice of cake was involved in her audition for the role.
To see if she was good enough for the job, the producers asked Alison to talk to strangers at a garden center, with no candy in sight.
Shedding light on her audition, she shared: ‘They had me interview random strangers, obviously to see if I’m good with different people. It was a strange audition.
After securing the role, Alison was told to keep the exciting news to herself for three weeks, but she couldn’t help but spill the secret to her 18-year-old son Aiden.
Last week, Alison confirmed her exciting new role on Great British Bake Off in a video of a cake that was shaped like the show’s iconic white tent and featured a model of herself, Noel and judges Paul Hollywood and Dame Prue Leith. .
In a voice-over, the presenter said: “This is breaking news, Alison Hammond is joining The Great British Bake Off team.”
Alongside the post, she wrote: ‘It’s official! The Great British Bake off is happening! Let’s Have It – The Cake That’s So Excited @BritishBakeOff @Channel4 @PrueLeith @PaulHollywood @noelfielding11 #GBBO’
Current co-host Noel was beyond excited to welcome Alison to the Great British Bake Off family.