'Love Island' star Joey Essex reports 'stalker' to police after receiving threats

Joey Essex, the reality TV star, has been forced to call in police after receiving “threatening” online messages from an alleged stalker.

The 34-year-old star claimed to have received more than 100,000 messages from one user, including an apparent death threat to his girlfriend, Jessie Potts, who he met on the reality dating show Love Island.

Speaking with The Sun, Joey revealed, "We have had to take the decision to report the stalker to the police because the messages have started to become more threatening.”

"I love my fans and want to be able to talk to them online but there has to be a line somewhere and sadly this is it,” he added.

Commenting on the situation, a close source told the outlet, "Joey loves his fans and being able to engage with them online so is used to receiving messages.

"Of course they’re not always nice and he does get trolled, but after being in the public eye for so many years he’s got used to dealing with that side of it,” the insider continued.

"But when he was in the 'Love Island' villa his team noticed a real uptick in messages from one user in particular and most of it is nonsense,” a tipster added.