Scotland Yard is hunting an obsessive who is said to have written thousands of pornographic letters to a number of famous women, including Joan Bakewell, Diana Rigg and Sue McGregor.
Always writing in longhand and using airmail envelopes, the man has tormented his victims over the past 20 years by sending anonymous letters, describing his sexual fantasies in explicit detail, to their home addresses and agents.
Other women who have been targeted include the actress Nyree Dawn Porter, who became a household name in 1967 when she played Irene in the television adaptation of the Forsyte Saga, and Dee Dee Wilde, the founding member of the 70s dance troupe Pan's People.
Police only realised the same person was writing the letters when another actress, Moira Lister, complained about a note she received while she was performing in the West End last December.
The letter was sent to the Forensic Science Service where an expert in calligraphy found that the handwriting matched other offensive letters that had been kept on file from investigations around the UK. All the letters bear Bolton, Lancashire or Manchester postmarks
An inquiry eventually linked the same writer, assumed to be a man, to dozens of famous women, many of whom were not prepared to be named.
Three victims will talk for the first time about the letters on a Crimewatch UK programme which is due to be broadcast tonight.
"This just has to come to an end," Joan Bakewell says. "We've been harassed and patient long enough. It is time this person realises how upsetting this is."
Sue McGregor, a presenter of Radio 4's Today programme, adds: "This has gone on long enough, it is more than a nuisance and it is actually against the law."
Porter says the writer clearly "needs help".
Police have given some of the offensive letters to Crimewatch in the hope that viewers will recognise the handwriting.
"The handwriting is quite distinctive and there will be plenty of material for comparison purposes against any suspect," said Keir Hartley, the expert who analysed the letters. "We have been able to link dozens of letters that have been written by the same hand."
DS Shirley McGlone, who is in charge of the inquiry, yesterday described the case as "very unusual."
A Crimewatch spokesman confirmed that some of the women had been receiving mail for more than 20 years.
"It is thought that thousands of letters may have been sent over this time. Due to the extreme language involved, a very limited number of words were appropriate for TV viewing."
"The writer seems to be fascinated with women of a certain type from a certain era," said a police spokeswoman.
