Helen Skelton tonight presents an ITV documentary explaining how she was scammed out of £70,000 after falling for a phone hoax - and urging other people to be wary.

The 36-year-old TV presenter from Kirkby Thore revealed last week that she was scammed out of her life savings after a phone call she thought was from her bank.

Helen said she was told that “something dodgy” was going on with her account. She answered a few questions, and a week later the money vanished.

Her documentary for ITV’s current affairs series Tonight will recount her experience. It will also advise viewers on the best ways to avoid being taken in by criminals.

The former Blue Peter presenter, who now works on numerous TV shows including Countryfile, hopes tonight’s programme will make more people aware of the growing number of tactics used by scammers, and help keep people on guard. She also wants to reduce the stigma around scamming, as she has insisted that scammers do not solely target “little old ladies”.

Helen has admitted that she was distracted by her two young sons at the time of the phone call, but had no reason to believe it wasn’t from her bank.

She told the News & Star: “I know people don’t talk about being scammed because they’re embarrassed. I felt it was wrong not to shine a light on it.

“When I looked into it I kept being told ‘This happens all the time.’ If somebody was getting mugged in the street all the time we wouldn’t think it was alright.”

Tonight’s show will see Helen investigating the ever-changing nature of scams and how they have become more sophisticated. In 2018 scammers stole more than £1 billion from UK bank customers using a variety of cons. These included impersonating public officials and government websites.

Tonight: Fraud - The Public Threat is on ITV at 7.30pm.