Mother-in-laws might seem like an easy target, but when, last week, the woman under attack was Diane Louise Jordan, the nation sat up and took notice. Fans of the Songs Of Praise presenter, a committed Christian, were shocked to learn she stands accused of conducting a harassment campaign against her estranged son-in-law and his new girlfriend, and that she had signed a police notice acknowledging complaints of verbal and physical assaults. Diane says the claims by David Linton and his partner are false. They had, she said, cast a shadow over her life.

There is anger on both sides. Yet there is one thing on which Diane and David do agree: that the true story of the poisoned relationships at the heart of it has never been told – until now. Today, speaking to ANGELLA JOHNSON, Diane alleges that despite the police involvement, David is, in fact, an arch-manipulator whose behaviour towards her daughter was worthy of Rob Titchener, the new villain of the Archers. The police harassment notice she agreed to sign, she says, is meaningless.

For his part, David claims Diane is the one guilty of breaking up his family through her interference. All he wants, he says, is to be left alone. Each denies absolutely the claims of the other. Here, their cases are set out for you to judge…

HER VERSION

Ordeal: Diane Louise Jordan says her ex-son-in-law David manipulated her daughter Justine

Those of you who have seen me presenting Songs Of Praise will know that I am a committed Christian. I am serious about my faith. And when comes to others, I weigh my words carefully.

But I have concluded this: the man who married my daughter Justine was a wounded child who has grown into a dangerous adult. We are all suffering from his behaviour, but Justine in particular. This is a man so manipulative, he moved his new lover into the family house while my daughter was still living there.

I once had great affection for David Linton, but I could see from the outset he was controlling. His relationship with Justine quickly became exclusive and she dropped her friends. They made a cute couple, but I was wary.

On the surface he seemed a great guy, but to me the signs were there that his emotional needs had not been met while he was growing up.

The sadness is that Justine, too, was a traumatised child, having lost her genetic mother (my older sister) when she was just two. I did not know enough to parent her in a way to offset that bereavement when she came to live with me, so she became a danger to herself.

She was a sheltered 19-year-old when she met David. I think he saw her vulnerability and exploited it. After a few months they ran off to Gretna Green. I felt they were too young and he was not my first choice, but my daughter loved him, so what could I do? They wanted a big family and got started right away.

Yes, I called his new girlfriend 'scum', religious TV star tells MoS... but my former son-in-law is a calculating control freak - just like evil Rob from the Archers

I noticed, however, David was slowly closing down her world –just like the character Rob Titchener in The Archers, who listeners have heard slowly isolating his wife Helen. From the outside you would think David was the most devoted of husbands and fathers, but behind closed doors he was chipping away at her confidence.

Again, just like Rob Titchener, David is really charming, but also calculating and manipulative, in my view. He told Justine he knew what was best for her.

She was loyal and never complained, but my husband Giles and I had a sense of unease that things were not right.

It was only in the last year of their nine-year marriage that she talked to me about it. She had become very depressed.

She was a stay-at-home mum with three young children, and for six weeks she couldn’t leave the house. She didn’t even have the will to watch daytime TV.

When people talk about domestic abuse they always think about the physical. With psychological abuse you don’t see bruises, but the effect is just as damaging.

In 2011 my mum was dying. She had given up her job to become my nanny when I got the role presenting Blue Peter so she was very close to Justine. But when doctors said she only had a week to live, David would not let Justine come to say goodbye.

Diane with Justine in 1995. Jordan brought up Justine following the death of her mother, Jordan's sister Jay, in 1989

I called him and he said: ‘We don’t believe you. You’re always crying wolf.’ Justine didn’t get to say goodbye to her grandmother.

David was very charismatic and I tried to help him with work. When he said he wanted to be a presenter, I introduced him to Chris Evans. He turned up tipsy with a mate and a woman, who he said was his mate’s girlfriend. It was only a few months later that I realised the woman was actually HIS girlfriend, Kayla Thomas. That’s the sort of character he is. I had not known David had also moved her into the family home. I did not know they openly shared a bedroom across from where the children slept, while Justine slept downstairs.

Justine told Giles first. She insisted that neither of us voice any objection. It was unbearable. I wanted to tell her to leave immediately but we allowed her to make that decision and said we would stand by her. My daughter later told me she agreed to the set-up as she didn’t want her children to be without their father.

The arrangement made me angry. David came to see me and we went out for dinner. Over the next two hours he told me he still loved Justine and even said he would leave Kayla.

He exploited her and then closed down her world

He complained Justine was a ‘lazy cow’ who only did things for the children. I explained to him that she was depressed, but he didn’t seem to get it. Strangely enough, it was at this time that David started to be nice to my husband and me. He even allowed us to see the children more.

By the grace of God, Justine discovered knitting and says it saved her life. Initially, David brought the wool home, but eventually she grew confident enough to visit the shop herself. She made friends with the owner and joined a knitting group. Slowly she started to become more like herself.

David stopped the kids going with us to France last year, even though he was planning to go on holiday with his girlfriend. It’s all about playing mind games. Justine kept saying: ‘I can’t go because David won’t let me.’ In the end the kids stayed with friends and we persuaded Justine to come with us on a camping holiday with my husband’s family. And it was then that I believe my daughter got her perspective back. She told us everything. I’m not going to go into too much detail because that is too exposing for her. However, she does know I’m helping with this piece and approves.

Things quickly started to unravel after France. David told Justine she was not capable of looking after the children and she became frightened.

On the August Bank Holiday weekend of 2014 she finally left with the children. It was the fear of losing them that spurred her.

These are not matters I wish to air publicly, but I have decided to speak out because the harassment notice has left me with no other choice.

The notice was issued after an incident in October last year at the house when Justine and I went to collect her things and Kayla refused to leave. She alleged I was aggressive, poking and pushing her. I told the officers it was untrue. They said that signing the paper was just acknowledging I had received it – not an admittance of guilt. I thought nothing more until they tried to serve another in August this year. This time I was supposed to have been verbally abusive at the kids’ sports day in June, then again when David and Kayla dropped off the children after a visit.

They also claimed I visited Kayla at her home and verbally abused her, although on that day I was working in London.

Although it had no basis, I signed because the police said it meant nothing. Legal experts have said these notices are open to misinterpretation, and I agree. But it is worse than that. They flag up on some criminal record searches. While the notice has no legal standing, it is a slur on my good name. I have now given police the proof that I could not have harassed that woman in August this year, or in October 2014. It’s not the way that I behave. I’ve now lodged a complaint against the police and Kayla.

Yes, I did lose my temper at her once. I did raise my voice and call her scum, all of which I now deeply regret. But that is not the person I am. And I did not lay a hand on her because I abhor violence.

I’m really sad about the hurt David is subjecting our entire family to, especially his children and himself. But in all this I hold on to the words from the Bible: ‘Forgive them, for they know not what they do.’

HIS VERSION 'Bullied': David says that Diane pushed him to the edge

She may come across as holier-than-thou, but as cliched as it sounds, she has been the ‘Christian’ mother-in-law from hell. Diane Louise Jordan is only 5ft 4ins but she’s like a rottweiler. I am absolutely terrified of what she is capable of doing. On one occasion she told me that she has money and I don’t so she can get away with whatever she likes. While I’m sorry to hear that Diane has denied bullying and harassing my partner for more than a year, I’m not surprised. I understand that her career and reputation are at risk because she has a squeaky clean brand to maintain, especially in Christian broadcasting. Obviously, she wants to ‘clear her name’. I must point out, however, that Diane Louise Jordan the TV presenter and Diane Johnson (her real name) are two different people. One is a clean-as-a-whistle BBC presenter – the other is not a very pleasant person. She is money obsessed. She’s yesterday’s news yet acts like she still has clout. This woman, while claiming she is a Christian with strong family values has cut me out of my children’s lives by interfering in matters that were none of her concern. She has made my life hell. I’ve had a very close relationship with my children since they were born, especially my son, who is now eight years old. Yet she tells them I am bad and that she doesn’t like me; she tells them that Kayla, my partner, is horrible and doesn’t care about them. No, says her adopted daughter's ex, SHE'S the controlling one... a 'mother-in-law from hell' ordered by police to stop harrassing us I feel I need to say something publicly because she spoke out in public to deny what she did. I also want her know I shall take legal action unless this stops. If she had not been guilty then she shouldn’t have accepted and signed the harassment notice. Police don’t hand these things out willy-nilly. They even suggested to Kayla about going down the criminal route and going to court over these matters but she doesn't want to inflame the situation any further. We just want a peaceful life and unfortunately, police action was the only way to stop her constant and relentless abuse. She has pushed me to the edge by taking my children and my life away. This was none of her business in the first place. But she has always butted in, so it really is in character. I first met Diane and Justine in 2005 at a music festival in Tunbridge Wells. Diane was very bubbly and I liked her a lot. My first impression was that she was very lovely and charismatic. Diane has tried to turn my children against me She would phone about eight times a day wanting to know where we were and what we were doing. She always wanted to hang around with us. She didn’t care if she was the oldest person in the room. Even when we went to church she had to be involved. Sadly some relationships just don’t work out and Justine and I drifted apart and I have since met someone else. But we were getting on quite amicably and were happy with our living arrangements. The problems began when Diane got involved and the whole thing has been fuelled entirely by her since then. This is not an attack on my children’s mother – I have nothing to say about her. Diane is the one who made things messy. She’s the one pulling the strings like a good puppeteer. She controls Justine with money. Diane can make you feel really amazing. And at the start I liked her a lot because she made me feel special, but she can also be very volatile. She’s stuck her finger in my chest more times than I care to remember. She wanted me to get back with Justine and when I wouldn’t, I got a lot of verbal abuse. She has also confronted my girlfriend on several occasions, calling her scum and telling her to watch her back. In October last year she got into Kayla’s face at my house when I wasn’t there and pushed her into a cupboard. Kayla, who is 5ft 6ins, went to the doctor with whiplash and a sprained wrist. That’s when the first harassment notice was issued. It is not the case that I moved Kayla into the family house while Justine still lived there. Nor is it true that I stopped Justine visiting her grandmother Norma. I actually went with Justine to visit her grandmother on her deathbed. Diane has also tried to turn my children against me. She tells them Kayla doesn’t love them and that I’ve been a bad daddy. It hurts to know she’s been devaluing us that way. But I’m not entirely surprised, having known her for the past ten years and witnessed her in several volatile episodes. Now, however, it feels like she is trying to take my children from me. Last year she told me that I’d never see them again. I'm constantly fighting to be part of my children's lives because I love them and miss them dearly. Kayla and I would like to move forward with our lives. We just want Diane to leave us alone and to stop interfering. Advertisement