She told ITV’s Loose Women: ‘I’ve been through the ordeal of kidnapping threats a few times before and it is terrifying. One million pound ransoms and stuff. Scotland Yard actually knocked at my door – they knew exactly what was going to happen.

‘Just a few weeks ago when I took my car in for a service, my mum got a call from the police after a mechanic had found a tracking device hidden on it. The police had to keep my car afterwards for inspection.’

But despite the multiple threats to the Loose Women panellist and her family, Katie revealed that she would not succumb to living in fear, adding:

‘The thing is, if they’re going to get you then they’re going to get you. You can buy all the security you want. I’ve got panic buttons and everything like that. But if something did happen, by the time the police would be able to get to my house, they would have already got me.’

‘You can’t let these things affect you. It was really frightening at the time yes but you have to get on with your life.’