ITV weather reporter Ruth Dodsworth has spoken out about the abuse she suffered in her marriage, plus the shocking discovery she made when her ex-husband was released from prison.
The TV star is best known for presenting the weather on ITV Wales, having joined the channel in 1996.
However, despite putting on a smile on our screens, Dodsworth was enduring hell behind the scenes, which she kept a secret for years.
The 49-year-old was previously married to Jonathan Wignall, 57. They tied the knot in 2012 and share children Grace, 20, and Jack, 19, together.
In 2021, he was sentenced to three years behind bars for coercive control and stalking —offences that have been recognised since 2015.
Dodsworth has said that her ex-husband would even exert control over here while she slept, as he tried unlocking her phone using her fingerprint to read her messages. He would also physically lash out when drunk.
Upon Wignall’s release, Dodsworth was stunned to learn he had set up a profile online to attract modelling and acting roles.
Speaking about the discovery, Dodsworth told the Daily Mail that she ‘couldn’t believe what [she] was seeing’.
She read in Wignall’s bio that his hobbies include golf and flying helicopters as he advertised himself for work, represented by Choice Model Management, which works with the likes of BBC and ITV.
‘Are no background checks done? What about due diligence?’, she asked incredulously. ‘A cursory Google of his name would have revealed that my ex-husband was a dangerous man just out of prison.
‘Helicopters and golf? I’d love to be able to reinvent my life like that, too! Unfortunately, I cannot because I’m just trying to get through each day.’
Dodsworth added: ‘Yes, my ex-husband is free to move on with his life after leaving prison. It’s right that he should and he is doing nothing illegal.
‘But reinventing himself as some sort of glamorous role model? Something sticks in the throat here.’
She said his new venture ‘sends a terrible message and reinforces what [she’s] always said – this is a man with no remorse, who still doesn’t feel he has done anything wrong.’
‘For me, the sense of entitlement that he can just carry on is… galling, to say the least.’
Dodsworth shared that Wignall had never modelled or acted before, only adding to her confusion when she discovered he was looking for employment in those fields.
While she understands that Wignall has ‘served his time’ and ‘should be free to do whatever he wants’, however, she branded it ‘so unfair’ that he’s able to present himself to the world as ‘a playboy model’.
Dodsworth left him in October 2019, after which he called her over 150 times in single day and threatened to take his own life in another attempt to control her.
He was arrested the following day, with it later emerging that he had installed a tracking device on Dodsworth’s car, linked to an app and a computer.
Dodsworth also suffered severe injuries at the hands of Wignall.
Who to call if you need help
For emotional support you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline, run by Refuge and Women’s Aid, on 0808 2000 247.
If you are in an LGBT relationship you can also call the helpline run by Broken Rainbow and Galop UK, on 0800 9995428.
Male victims can call also the Men’s Advice Line on 0808 801 0327.
In 2016, she broke several of her ribs, which she initially claimed were sustained from a fall while washing the dishes.
On one occasion, Wignall shoved Dodsworth in front of family members, also causing a fractured rib.
The truth behind her broken bones only came to light, though, when her son, Jack, called her while she was out and begged her not to come home.
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Aged 14 at the time, he pleaded: ‘Dad will kill you,’ which Dodsworth believes saved her life.
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