A man accused of stalking the Marcella and Pushing Daisies actress Anna Friel has plead not guilty after being accused of sending her unwanted items and appearing at her home
A man accused of stalking actress Anna Friel has pleaded not guilty at court.
Phil Appleton, 71, is alleged to have sent “numerous messages”, visited the actress’s home address on several occasions and “left unwanted gifts” between January 1 2022 and December 11 2024, a judge sitting at Reading Crown Court heard on Monday. The alleged stalking is said to have caused Ms Friel “serious alarm or distress” and had “an adverse effect on her day-to-day activities”, the court heard.
Appleton, of Springfield Road in Windsor pleaded not guilty to one count of stalking causing serious alarm or distress. The defendant, who appeared by videolink from HMP Bullingdon and did not have a solicitor present in court, told judge Neil Millard he accepted sending messages to Ms Friel and visiting her home address on several occasions, but denied his behaviour amounted to stalking.
A provisional trial date has been set for July 28 at Reading Crown Court. The defendant will next appear in court on May 9 for a further case management hearing.
Anna is best known for playing Detective Sergeant Marcella Backland in the hit ITV drama Marcella which aired from 2016 until 2019. While older TV fans may affectionately recall the actress playing Beth Jordache in the iconic Channel 4 soap Brookside between 1993 and 1995 – a role for which she won a National Television Awards in 1995.
As well as appearing in UK TV, Friel has enjoyed success in the USA – starring as Charlotte ‘Chuck’ Charles in the ABC comedy series Pushing Daisies from 2007 until 2009. She also had a lead role in the second season of the anthology series The Girlfriend Experience – which was created by Oscar winning Hollywood director Steven Soderbergh.
Her role in Marcella – which broadcast internationally via Netflix – landed her an Emmy Award win as Best Performance by an Actress in 2017. And she has also appeared in films including Limitless, alongside Bradley Cooper, and London Boulevard alongside Colin Farrell and Keira Knightley.
Friel was previously in a relationship with Harry Potter star David Thewlis from 2001 until 2010 with whom she shares a daughter. She then dated the actor Rhys Ifans – who also appeared in the Harry Potter film franchise – from 2011 until 2014.
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