"I'm Jason, I'm outside." Last year, a stalker knocked on Claire Foy's front door.

British actor Claire Foy has been in the spotlight for many years now, with much of her fame centred around her leading role as Queen Elizabeth in The Crown.

After her two seasons of The Crown aired on Netflix, Foy was targeted by a stalker. 

It began with the stalker, American man Jason Penrose, bombarding Foy's publicist Emma Jackson with over 1,000 explicit emails, including one referring to rape between February 19, 2021 and February 7, 2022.

For over a year, the emails spiralled, and Penrose's behaviour became worse. 

On December 17, 2021, Foy discovered Penrose had turned up at her home and was repeatedly ringing her doorbell.

"I'm Jason. I'm outside," he said over the intercom.

Foy has since told a court that she was terrified, fearing for both her own safety and her daughter's too. She shares seven-year-old daughter Ivy Rose Moore, with her ex-husband.

Watch Claire Foy on The Crown. Post continues below.

The stalking didn't stop. Foy said all aspects of her life were affected by the ordeal, she was suffering sleepless nights and fearing that her life was in danger. She even asked her friends not to tag her in pictures on social media, in case Penrose used them to track her movements.

As the authorities circled in on Penrose, he was still intimidating the actor.

He contacted not only her publicist but also her sister, ex-boyfriend and agent, desperate for Foy to know that she should be his girlfriend.

Finally, after a year of harassment, Foy was granted an interim stalking protection order in early 2022. But it wasn't enough to stop Penrose, who decided to send her more letters and a parcel from the hospital where he was being treated.

In July, a five-year stalking protection order against Penrose was issued. Following the protection order, Penrose was charged with stalking involving serious alarm or distress and twice breaching a stalking protection order. He has admitted to the charges and now faces jail time.

In court this week, Foy opened up about the impact this whole experience had on her psyche, saying: "His relentless attempts to contact me are so traumatic. Every time I think this is sorted, it is not. I feel like there is nothing that would stop him being able to contact me, he has affected every aspect of my life."

During court proceedings this week, it was explained that Penrose had targeted Foy with "sustained, unwanted, fixated and obsessive behaviour that was intrusive due to his delusional beliefs".

"Ms Foy was terrified as she did not know what his intention was. She was in fear for her and her daughter's lives," said prosecutor Varinder Hayre.

As for the Judge, he said: "It left her in genuine fear for her safety and terrified and helpless in her own home. She was frightened knowing he was somewhere. The persistent conduct created very serious distress, a great deal of psychological harm and caused Ms Foy to make considerable changes to her lifestyle."

When issuing his guilty plea, Penrose was granted conditional bail, meaning he must surrender his passport to police and not apply for travel documents. He is also forbidden from contacting Foy directly or indirectly or attending an address he knows or believes to be her address.

Penrose will be sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court on November 28. The charges carry the maximum sentence of 10 years' jail, under the UK's Protection from Harassment Act 1997.

Feature Image: Getty.

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