Loose Women panellist and Rip Off Britain presenter Gloria Hunniford defrauded out of £120,000 by woman posing as her at Santander branch in Croydon

The 76-year-old Loose Women panellist's bank account was emptied just days after the imposter arrived at a Santander branch in North End with people she claimed were her daughter and grandson. 

A bank employee said the Hunniford lookalike told her she had "a few bob" in the account and wanted to add the teenager as a signatory because she had been ill.

She then helped them complete the paperwork, including by photocopying their driving licences.

Police are still hunting the fake Hunniford and her 'daughter' but stand-in grandson Alan Dowie, 18, faces for his part in the unlikely scam.

He was due to be sentenced today at the Old Bailey alongside Reyon Dillon, also 18, who laundered some of the cash.

Aysha Davis, 28, the personal banker who signed off the change on Hunniford's account, was also accused of being part of the scam but was acquitted after less than 30 minutes of jury deliberation after insisting the TV star was "not of my time."

The court heard Santander have reimbursed the money stolen from Ms Hunniford.

Giving evidence in court, Ms Davis said she had never met Dowie before he walked into the bank and had to Google TV star Ms Hunniford - who regularly appears on This Morning and The One Show - to find out who she was.

"The name on the ID card was Mary Winifred Gloria Hunniford, and sorry to be stereotypical but this lady looked like a Mary," she told jurors.

"I had to Google Gloria Hunniford and even if I passed her on the street I wouldn't recognise her because she's not from my time."

Prosecutor Sheilagh Davies said: "But she's pretty famous."

Jurors giggled when the defendant replied: "In your opinion."

The prosecutor said it was ironic that Ms Hunniford presented consumer complaints programme Rip Off Britain.

Ms Davis told the court she had spent the morning doing paperwork before going to the cash desk to book customers in for meetings about opening new accounts. 

She then went to the main banking hall to help any customers who had not yet joined a queue and looked like they needed help. 

Police have not found the Gloria Hunniford 'lookalike' or the woman, right, who posed as her daughter

CCTV footage shows Ms Davis approaching a black male to ask him if he needed assistance, before speaking to the three fraudsters.

She told the court: "The lady said, 'I've come to add my grandson to my account. She said she had 'a few bob' in there and that she'd been ill.
"The old lady had her bank card and her driving licence - it's not rare people wanting to add someone to their account, so this was just the same as always."

When asked if she would recognise Gloria Hunniford, she replied: "I didn't recognise her or I would have done something about it. I wouldn't have gone ahead with the transaction."

She said she had passed both driving licences under the UV scanner and both had illuminated correctly and then photocopied them.

"I had never seen these people in my life before - I had no part in what I am accused of."

"Banks get defrauded every day but because of the high profile of the person on the account, I am being used as a scapegoat to try and repair the damage to the bank's reputation."

"I was three months pregnant at the time and the only thing I was focused on was the pregnancy."

She continued: "I spoke to the black male before and if he had said I want to open an account, would have taken him up to my office."

The prosecutor said: "The account had a significant cash balance. The boy was clearly young, only 17. Did you not question it?"

Davis continued: "I asked the older lady, 'How come you're adding your grandson and not your daughter?' She said she'd been ill and she wanted to add her grandson."

"I'm a working-class person and I don't see that kind of money every day, but some people you think would have lots of money have nothing, and some people who you think wouldn't have much have quite a lot."

She said that as they had all the correct ID documents and paperwork it wasn't her job to pry for fear of causing offence.

Jurors were told that one of the forms was missing, but Davis said: "If I was purposefully doing something wrong I would have done everything right to cover my back.

"Just because I made a mistake and I would have gotten into trouble at work it doesn't implicate me in this fraud."

Ms Davis, of Streatham High Road, Streatham, was cleared of one count of conspiracy to defraud.

Dowie, of Oxted, Surrey, has already pleaded guilty to the same charge.

He will be sentenced today alongside Dillon, of Notson Road, Croydon, who admitted money laundering.