Alex Belfield (born 14 January 1980) is an English former radio presenter for

BBC Radio Leeds BBC Radio Leeds is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of West Yorkshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at St Peter's Square in Leeds. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audienc ...

who was dismissed for misconduct. He was convicted of

stalking Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance or contact by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitorin ...

charges in September 2022 and imprisoned.

Career

Belfield worked at Mansfield 103.2 FM in the early 2000s. He presented the mid-morning show on BBC Radio Leeds. In 2010 he made lewd comments about weather presenter Keeley Donovan's broadcasts at home that resulted in complaints from listeners. As punishment, Belfield was suspended from the station for a day and strongly reprimanded by BBC bosses. From 2007, Belfield released videos through his

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel, initially called Celebrity Radio before rebranding as The Voice of Reason.

Stalking conviction

On 18 June 2021 Belfield was summonsed to appear at

Nottingham Magistrates' Court Nottingham Magistrates' Court is a magistrates' court (England and Wales), magistrates' court in Nottingham, England. History Until 1996, Nottingham magistrates were housed in two separate buildings, the Guildhall and the Shire Hall. In 1996, ...

, where he was charged with 12 counts of stalking "involving fear of violence or serious alarm or distress" on 1 July. On 29 July 2021, Belfield appeared at

Nottingham Crown Court Nottingham Crown Court, or more formally the High Court of Justice and Crown Court, Nottingham is a Crown Court and meeting place of the High Court of Justice on Canal Street in Nottingham, England. The building also accommodates the County Cou ...

accused of stalking eight people between November 2012 and March 2021, including BBC staff members

Stephanie Hirst Stephanie Hirst is an English radio and television presenter on Hits Radio. She has hosted '' Hit40UK'' and the weekday breakfast show on Capital Yorkshire '' Hirsty's Daily Dose''. Career Hirst started her career at 96.3 Radio Aire in Le ...

and

Jeremy Vine Jeremy Guy Vine (born 17 May 1965) is an English television and radio presenter and journalist. He is best known as the host of his BBC Radio 2 lunchtime programme which presents news, views, interviews with live guests, consumer issues and popu ...

. Belfield was convicted in September 2022 for four of eight stalking charges at Nottingham Crown Court. He was sentenced to five and a half years in prison; before sentencing "he was allowed to deliver a closing speech deriding the case as a 'BBC and police witch-hunt' based on five arrests and 3 invasions of his home, without a warrant and any evidence of any crime, and describing himself as 'the No 1 anti-BBC journalist'". He told the jury "I am offensive... My human right allows me to speak words that are not to everyone's taste". The judge said that while Belfield acknowledged the distress he caused the victims, he showed more concern during the proceedings about being treated unfairly and how the process impacted him (Belfield) personally. A bid for leave to appeal was refused in February 2023. In May 2024, the Nottinghamshire police detective who had led the stalking investigation into Belfield won a libel case against him. Belfield had falsely accused the detective of being corrupt, lying in court and colluding with the BBC in a witch hunt against him. Belfield retracted all his comments, issued a "sincere and unqualified apology" and will pay substantial damages along with compensation for legal costs to the police detective. In March 2025, the BBC issued a "full and unreserved apology" to staff members who had been stalked by Belfield. Belfield was released from prison in June 2025, after 2 years and 9 months. He will serve the remainder of his sentence on licence.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belfield, Alex 1980 births Living people 21st-century English journalists 21st-century English criminals BBC radio presenters English male journalists English newspaper journalists English male criminals English radio presenters Criminals from Nottinghamshire Mass media people from Nottingham People convicted of stalking