Christof King alleged to have told TV presenter he was ‘planning the words for her gravestone’

A man sent a series of tweets to the television presenter Christine Lampard that ranged “from dark to loving to incoherent”, a court has heard.

Several of the messages were “incoherent waffle”, while others became “quite sinister and dark” and made her fear for her safety, she told Isleworth crown court on Monday.

Christof King, 39, pleaded guilty to stalking last week, but denies sending the tweets.

Lampard said she paid particular attention to the profile picture of the account from which the messages were sent “because the tweets were so disturbing, to the extent that I showed it to my husband as well and shared my concerns”. She told the court she wanted to make sure she memorised the face.

One tweet King is alleged to have sent read: “I can hear the scratch of nails as I sharpen them ahead of your crucifixion.” The court heard another tweet read: “I am planning the words that will go on your gravestone.”

King, who allegedly asked Lampard for career advice, sent letters and turned up at her house on more than one occasion, which made her hide in a bedroom with the housekeeper.

“I felt very uneasy with the letters. [They were] incredibly odd,” Lampard told the court. “Including one written to my dog … But it was this sense that he felt a certain destiny to talk to me, which is clearly not normal.”



The court heard that a letter King sent to Lampard in September 2017 acknowledged the situation was starting to feel “like Groundhog Day”.

King allegedly wrote: “I would really like your help with getting into the TV industry.” According to the allegations, he said he was sure she would have some great connections, adding that he was “making no headway”, the court heard.



He allegedly said he would like to come to the Lampards’ home to “pick your brains”. In a letter to Lampard, King referred to his “in-depth analysis” of how she operated on TV, the court heard.

The court also heard that, on one occasion, the presenter was at her home with her husband when someone named Christof knocked at the door. She explained that her husband works with someone of the same name and thought it was him. As they approached the front door, Lampard said she recognised him as “the man from Twitter”.

The hearing continues.



