Phil Appleton, 71, a former pilot and actor, has been handed a 15-year restraining order after stalking actress Anna Friel for three years, telling her she would make the “perfect wife” and turning up at her home with a ring.
At Reading Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, Appleton was made subject to the order, which prevents him from contacting Friel and bans him from areas she frequents. He also received a 24-month community order, including 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days, after admitting stalking.
In victim personal statements, Friel said the case had made her “feel very threatened” and that she is “constantly looking over my shoulder”. She added: “I don’t want to feel like a victim in my own home and a neighbourhood I’ve lived in for years. I am very disappointed he was given a warning the first time around and it didn’t stop him.”
The court heard that Appleton first approached Friel in 2022 while she was walking with her daughter in Windsor. He claimed to have worked with her, and she gave him her email. He then sent regular emails, saying he loved her and inviting her to meals. In December 2022, he attempted to join her health club and referred to her as the “perfect wife”. After a police warning, he turned up at her home in a dinner jacket in December 2023, saying he was taking her to a ball. A year later, he returned, mouthed “I love you” and held up a ring.
James Bloomer KC, for Appleton, said his client’s behaviour was “troubling” and that he felt “sorry and ashamed”. The judge acknowledged the distress caused but imposed the community order rather than a custodial sentence.
Campaigners for women’s safety have raised concerns about police handling of stalking cases, warning of a “patchwork” service across England and Wales. Friel, 49, who rose to fame on Brookside and recently starred in BBC drama Unforgivable, said the ordeal had been “incredibly time consuming” and had invaded her private life.
