Man who stalked Loose Women star Denise Welch to be sentenced today

A man who admitted to stalking Loose Women star Denise Welch will be sentenced today.

Toraq Wyngard, 53, admitted to stalking the Hollyoaks actress and causing serious alarm or distress for offences which occurred between September 18, 2020, and February 11, 2021.

He also pleaded guilty to charges of possession of a knife, criminal damage, and arson, after setting fire to a skip in the driveway of the Cheshire home Ms Welch shares with husband Lincoln Townley, Cheshire Police said.

In a statement released by police last year, Ms Welch said she and her husband were relieved Wyngard had pleaded guilty.

“This has been an incredibly terrifying and stressful time for me and our family,” the actress said.

Wyngard, of Cannon Street in Salford, Greater Manchester, was found near the star’s home in 2020 when police were called to a fire, which spread from the skip to the garage attached to the property, police said.

When officers searched the 53-year-old, they found a knife in his backpack.

Welch, 63, who played Trish Minniver in Hollyoaks and Natalie Barnes in Coronation Street, is a regular panellist on Loose Women and has also appeared on Waterloo Road and as a contestant on Dancing On Ice.