Joel Dommett is perhaps best known to ITV viewers as the presenter of The Masked Singer – and he’s also hosting This Morning alongside Rochelle Humes this week (August 19).
But the 39 year old has also enjoyed a long career in stand-up comedy – and managed to turn a shocking instance of attempted blackmail into a prominent part of his comedy act.
He met his now-wife Hannah Cooper in 2016. They connected through Instagram after she sent him a private message containing a heart-eyed cat emoji.
This social media approach had a happy ending for Joel and Hannah.
But one particular previous experience of meeting someone online was in no way pleasant – and could have jeopardised his career.
Joel Dommett: What was his experience of attempted blackmail?
Speaking to i in early 2018, just over 12 months after he’d been a contestant on I’m A Celeb, Joel recalled being catfished when he was single.
He chatted with a Twitter follower named ‘Staci’ – and eventually agreed to Skype sex.
Joel recalled: “It wasn’t something I’d done before, I didn’t even really know what it was going to be. I assumed it was going to be masturbation over the internet, and it was.”
It wasn’t something I’d done before.
However, the person on the other end of the call recorded their interaction.
And they later tried to use the footage – which showed him naked and recognisable – in an attempt to blackmail him for cash.
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‘I owned it’
Despite the “horrific” humiliation and pain of the incident – and subsequent leak of nude images – Joel decided to take control of a situation beyond his control as much as he could.
He was also aware what had happened would also make the newspapers due to his increasing public profile.
And so he utilised the attempted blackmail as material for a show.
Read more: Lorraine fans divided as Joel Dommett steps in to host show: ‘Insufferable’
Joel said back in 2018: “I decided to tackle it head on and make it funny. At least then I owned it, instead of a paper owning it. It’s a mad thing but it’s the new world that we live in.
“I’m in a very lucky position that I’m a comedian and I can talk about it. If I was a teacher I would have lost my job.”
Joel hosts This Morning all week on ITV1 at 10am.
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