Scots podcaster James English attacked pregnant partner in campaign of domestic abuse

Scots podcaster James English has been found guilty of domestically abusing his former partner, including while she was pregnant.

The 43-year-old repeatedly attacked the 30-year-old woman at his flat in Glasgow’s Argyle Street and elsewhere between July 2022 and November 2023.

English grabbed his victim by the neck and pinned her against a door while she was pregnant.

He later pressed his thumbs into her eyebrows while she was pregnant, which caused redness.

In an earlier incident, English kicked the woman off a bed after she refused to give him a cuddle.

Other violent incidents included pulling the woman by the hair which caused her to lose her balance and, on another occasion, slapped her on the face causing redness.

English, now of Larkhall, Lanarkshire, shot to fame after he starred in reality TV show Glow.

He is also the host of the Anything Goes podcast which has more than 800,000 subscribers on YouTube.

English has interviewed stars such as ex-footballer Paul Gascoigne, boxer Tony Bellew and snooker legend Jimmy White.

English’s attendance at Glasgow Sheriff Court for Tuesday’s verdict was excused by Sheriff David Hall, who was told last week that he was “out of the country”.

He was found guilty after a 12-day trial of engaging in a course of behaviour which was abusive to a partner or ex-partner.

The single charge included a total of 19 allegations and Sheriff Hall considered six of them to be proven. One allegation had been withdrawn mid-trial by the Crown.

The court heard that the pair got together having initially chatted on social media app Instagram in July 2022 and met in person the following month.

Evidence was heard by the woman, which was given remotely.

She told the court that English was “nice at first” and that the relationship moved “fast.”

The first act of violence came when they were lying together in bed in the early hours of the morning.

She stated: “He said that he wanted a cuddle…I just said that I was feeling a lot of sick, just give me a minute.”

Prosecutor Danielle Docherty asked if English was happy and she replied: “No.”

The woman said: “He kicked me off the bed to the side of my hip on the right side of my body as I was on the left side of the bed.”

When asked how forceful the kick was, the woman replied: “Yes, it was quite forceful because I hit the wardrobe when I came off the bed.”

The woman stated that she felt “shocked” and wanted to leave.

She claimed English joined her five minutes later in the living room.

She said: “He came over to the sofa where I was sat and he grabbed me by the shoulders for me to stand and pushed me against the wall.”

When asked what level of force was used, the woman replied: “Enough for me to be lifted from my feet.”

She stated that the incident lasted “not a long time” and stopped when he let her go.

The woman recalled being “frightened” at the time.

Ms Docherty asked how English seemed and she replied: “Angry.”

The relationship continued and the woman discovered that she was pregnant.

She stated that in a later incident, they were in the property together when English “took a firm hold” of her.

Ms Docherty told the court in her closing submissions: “He seized her by the neck, compressed it and pinned her against a door.

“This first episode lasted ten seconds.

“The woman told the court that she was petrified, just panicking and he was aggressive.”

The woman further stated that during a “second episode” which lasted three to five seconds, English “grabbed her by the throat.”

Ms Docherty said: “He held her with a tight grip and she confirmed that she remained conscious throughout.”

In another incident, English pressed his thumbs into the woman’s eyebrows while she was pregnant.

The woman told the court that she experienced “redness” as a result.

English, in a later occasion, pulled the woman by the hair which caused her to lose her balance.

Ms Docherty stated: “She said that her hair was long at the time and pulled it downwards.”

English’s final act of violence was “striking the woman’s face with an open hand.”

The woman reported having redness to her face and later informed her brother about it.

The trial was told that English sent threatening and abusive messages to the woman. One read “You absolute waste. Get a job and support your family”.

English also verbally abused the woman, calling her a “s**g”, “fat s**g” as well as “little b****.”

He also said: “You are lucky I never f***ing battered you.”

Calum Weir, defending, told the court in his closing remarks that the Crown’s case “fell short” of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

In relation to the violence and injuries, Mr Weir said: “There was no evidence in terms of pictures for someone who described herself as online. This was someone savvy with an online presence.”

He later added: “There is no evidence or pictures – it simply did not happen.”

Mr Weir stated that the victim was also “vague” with dates and there was “no specific time” given for each allegation.

The lawyer also spoke about screenshots, pictures and recordings given to the court which he said were “cropped and the context was unclear…and perhaps spliced.”

It was revealed that English has previous convictions for mainly road traffic matters.

When convicting English, Sheriff Hall told the court: “I considered the victim to be credible and reliable.

“I am satisfied that it is appropriate to convict of parts of the charge.

“There was a lot of evidence that this relationship was on-off between them.

“It was to me a relationship that was destined to fail and it somewhat dragged on.”

Sentence was deferred pending background reports until next month and English’s bail was continued meantime.