CARLISLE-born TV presenter Helen Skelton has revealed she was scammed out of £70,000 by fraudsters.

The 36-year-old, known for her stints hosting Blue Peter and Countryfile on the BBC, shared the news in an heartfelt interview with Lorraine Kelly on her ITV morning show on Thursday.

It comes ahead of new show by Helen on scamming which will air next week.

Helen told Lorraine: “I got phoned up by the bank, and told something dodgy was going on with my account.

“A week later £70,000, all my savings had gone.

“It was just a few questions over the phone.”

The Cumbrian broadcaster hopes the show will make more people aware of the growing number of tactics used by scammers, and help keep people on guard.

“The reason I made the programme is because it happens every day of the week, to all members.

“We’re not talking about little old ladies who are victims and don’t understand the internet, that’s naive, it’s happening to people and they’re too embarrassed to say it’s happened,” she added.

The mum-of-two said she was distracted when she got the call.

“I had one kid up a tree, another one wrestling and another dog throwing up the kids’ birthday cake.

"When they phoned me up and said there’s something going on, you don’t question your bank.”

Her upcoming show will see Helen investigating the ever-changing nature of scams, and how they have become more sophisticated.

Scammers stole over a billion pounds from UK bank customers in 2018 using a variety of cons - including impersonating public officials and government websites.

n Tonight: Fraud - The Public Threat will air on ITV at 7.30pm on Thursday, September 17.