TV doctor Ranj Singh has revealed his ‘horrific and abhorrent’ torment at the hands of a shamed GP who has been struck off for relentlessly trolling him online.
The 46-year-old presenter was branded a ‘paedophile sympathiser’ and ‘scum’ by Dr David Cartland over his support for the Covid-19 vaccine.
Dr Ranj, who was a regular face on ITV’s This Morning until he quit after 10 years in 2021, sued Cartland, 42, for defamation last year and reported him to the General Medical Council.
The Strictly star told a panel: ‘The impact on me was extremely upsetting and damaging. I now suffer from anxiety and am seeing a therapist due to the abhorrent things Dr Cartland said about me.
‘My reputation is everything. This has been a horrific experience.’
Cartland of Redditch, Worcestershire, claimed in his defence that X was ‘a unique social media arena on which there is rigorous debate and discussion’, but admitted: ‘I have reacted unwisely online.’
The GP, who was found to have harassed three doctors and a practice manager between 2022 and 2025, was struck off over fears he ‘would behave in a similar way in future’.
During a torrent of abuse posted via X, Instagram, Gettr, and Telegram, Cartland castigated children’s doctor Dr Ranj for befriending a young TV runner who had an affair with ex-This Morning host Phillip Schofield and calling him a ‘stud’.
One message posted by Cartland, who has who has 300,000 followers on X, said: ‘Is it ok for a paediatrician to boast about their [XXX] publicly…?….To wear a T-shirt stating never apologise for who you love (no exceptions).
‘Anyone think a kids Dr calling for help and support for paedophiles is ok?
‘Anyone think calling a groom victim a stud is ok whatever their age is ok? Anyone think that calling someone a dirty filthy slut or a Nancy boy is ok? ‘
Dr Ranj sued Cartland for defamation in 2024 but despite the pair settling, the anti-vaxxer GP continued posting malicious messages just 24 hours later, calling him a ‘lying bastard’ and accusing him of ‘playing the victim.’
The TV doctor eventually reported Cartland to the GMC and at a disciplinary hearing in Manchester told how he was ‘bombarded with an onslaught of tweets that were aggressive and generally negative’ due to being tagged in the GP’s posts or by followers retweeting his posts.
He told how he had been instructed a therapist to help him with mental health issues after the online vitriol which on occasion was homophobic and was exacerbated by Cartland repeating quotes he had said – but taking them out of context.
Dr Ranj was later accused of ‘snitching to the headmaster’, inventing ‘vexatious nonsense’ and of making ‘ridiculous unsubstantiated claims’ when he made his complaint about Cartland to the GMC.
The TV star, who has since deactivated his X account and proceeding again with another civil claim against Cartland, said: ‘I feel Dr Cartland is doing this in order to harass and defame me, to build a negative sentiment about me amongst his followers and the general public and to encourage others to continue to harass, and also to try to intimidate me.’
He accepted that X was ‘not a very pleasant place’ but insisted health care professionals had an obligation to ‘behave responsibly and abide by the codes of conduct of social media platforms and legislation’.
Dr Ranj said that Cartland ‘knowingly enticed others’ to attack him, and that he was ‘trying to bait his followers into reacting’ to posts about him.
The hearing was told Dr Ranj had never met or worked with Cartland but became aware of him in January 2023, because of his online behaviour directed at him and others.
He blocked Cartland, but that he still saw tweets about himself if others responded to them, or if he was tagged in them.
The first contact was when Cartland posted a photograph of him alongside the comment ‘what people don’t realise is that one dose of any COVID vaccine gives you 100% protection from being hospitalized or dying.’
Dr Ranj admitted it was a quote from himself but said Cartland’s posts ‘took’ it out of context and resulted in a number of negatives tweets about him.
He then saw another tweet that said: ‘People have not understood that these are quotes from them not me. And the abuse I have walked into after work from people on our side of the narrative! Think about what you say!’
Cartland also posted homophobic imagery on X, including the words ‘no comment’ under two photographs – one showing a line of Nazi flags and the other a line of Pride flags.
Further posts said: ‘A certain doctor likes to dress up as the Baphomet at weekends mmmm’ – with an emoji of a satanic-type statue with a sheep’s head.
Later posts referring to Dr Ranj’s complaint to the GMC read: ‘Extraordinary claims need extraordinary evidence. What a scummy thing to do. You should be ashamed.
‘Not up for chatting about it and debating like most adults? Just snitch to the head teacher? Shall I report him to the GMC for paedophile sympathising with a minor calling him a stud?
‘If you have been abused by the doctor in question please get in touch and we can all seek justice together!’
In his evidence, Dr Ranj said: ‘I did everything I could to limit the negative and distressing traffic that I was receiving – but Dr Cartland’s behaviour had a dramatic and awful impact on me both personally and professionally.
‘After I complained to the GMC, the continued messaging by Dr Cartland was targeted bullying behaviour. I continued to get an onslaught of abuse, often of a homophobic nature, and at one stage had to deactivate my account.’
He said the impact was ‘extremely upsetting and damaging’ and that he now needs a therapist due to his anxiety.
In his evidence Cartland of Redditch, Worcestershire who has was found guilty of harassing another doctor and two other people online described X as a ‘a raucous form of communication’ and ‘a unique social media arena on which there is rigorous debate and discussion.’
But he admitted: ‘I have reacted unwisely online, been quick to react to abuse and retaliate, and found it difficult to not engage with trolls and adversaries when they are personal particularly about family.
Cartland claimed X was a place for ‘raucous form of communication’ and ‘rigorous debate’.
But he admitted he had ‘reacted wisely online’, adding: ‘I wish to place on record my sincere apologies to all people that have been distressed, harmed or offended by my words and actions in particular each of the complainants and hope the panel understand that I have equally been distressed, harmed and offended by actions against me.
‘I have many hundreds of trolls being personal, aggressive and trying anything to goad a reaction. This unrelenting attack has led to retaliation and self-defence which I absolutely admit has not been wholly becoming of a practicing GP.’
Cartland was removed from the medical register for serious professional misconduct following his tribunal hearing.
The panel decided last month that Cartland should be suspended immediately and could not continue to practice during the 28-day appeal window.
Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service chairman Mrs Claire Lindley ruled: ‘The Tribunal was concerned about the persistent, threatening and abusive harassment of four separate complaints, over a sustained period of time.
‘Dr Cartland has not shown any recognition of the extent of the impact and his conduct demonstrates a blatant disregard for good medical practise.
‘Given the marked lack of insight and remediation, the Tribunal was concerned that Dr Cartland would behave in a similar way in future.’
