Louise Minchin and her BBC Breakfast co-host Dan Walker were the target of malicious emails threatening to carry out knife and axe attacks.
Kristofer Jean Pierre Groot sent five 'expressive and violent' messages and said the Chester-based presenter’s ‘neck looks nice for slitting’.
The emails were sent to eDigitalResearch, a company which runs surveys for the BBC.
Groot threatened to ‘smash (Walker) in the face with an axe and kill his family’ before making the terrifying pledge to ‘play the long game’ in enacting his revenge.
The 35-year-old sent the messages after a segment about cleaning on the early morning show.
A sufferer of paranoid schizophrenia, he believed both presenters were directing comments at him during a broadcast on April 4.
Groot, of Poynton, Cheshire East, admitted a charge of sending communications of an offensive nature at Macclesfield Magistrates’ Court .
Debbie Byrne, prosecuting, said: “eDigital, a company which carries out research for the BBC , were sent five email messages intended for Louise Minchin and Dan Walker at 6.56am on April 4.
“None of the messages reached the intended people but they caused concern. Police were called and traced the emails to the defendant’s address.
“The messages were expressive and violent in nature. The first said ‘that Louise’s neck looks nice for slitting’.
“The next said ‘that co-presenter Dan, I am going to smash him in the face with an axe and kill his family’, followed by ‘tell that Dan to meet me and I will f*** him up’, and ‘I can’t wait to see the look on his face when I knife him in the car park’.
“The final message was ‘I am going to going to get my own back and play the long game’.”
Hannah Kelly, defending Groot, said the defendant had not taken his medication during the period of offending.
She said: “These are unpleasant messages for anyone to receive.
“They related to a particular news items about cleaning on BBC Breakfast news.
“He genuinely believed that the presenters were directing their comments personally to him.
“Considering it was about cleaning goes to show he wasn’t in the best frame of mind. He is devastated and mortified by his behaviour.”
Groot was bailed to appear for sentence at Chester Crown Court on October 18.
