Seriously ill woman sued by wealthy broadcaster Stephen Nolan for defamation has called his legal ordeal “unnecessary and unwanted.”

The Co Down woman, who is battling a life-changing illness, vowed to “vehemently defend” the court action after she was sued over two comments posted separately on Twitter, now known as X, in April 2021.

His legal team is understood to have asked the BBC to hand him details of complaints made against the broadcaster over several years.

Nolan, who is one of the BBC’s highest-paid presenters, received between £405,000 and £409,999 directly from the license fee in 2023-24.

The payments covered his work with BBC Radio Ulster’s The Nolan Show, 5 Live and Belfast-based Nolan Live TV, but did not include work done by his independent production company.

The BBC’s annual report for July this year ranked Mr Nolan as the BBC’s fifth highest-paid presenter, behind top-earning and Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker.

The tweets at the center of the legal action were posted by the woman after a period of civil unrest across the north in 2021, including riots, which received extensive coverage on The Nolan Show.

One comment referenced Nolan’s “contribution to NI’s political voice” and included the hashtags #suemetoo #bbcni.

Lawyers representing Nolan are understood to claim the publication of the messages has damaged his reputation.

The Irish News understands that the Co Down woman has refused to admit most of the claims made by Nolan.

The woman’s legal team has also contacted the BBC to confirm how many complaints have been made to the corporation regarding Mr Nolan over a number of years.

His lawyer Darragh Mackin, of Phoenix Law, said the legal process has been ongoing for several years and is taking its toll on his client.

“At this time no trial date has yet been set.

“Our client describes being involved in such a lengthy legal process as ‘unnecessary and unwanted.'”

The lawyer added that “she intends to vehemently defend her position.”

He said: “This case raises much broader issues and, to that end, your first step will be to seek the underlying materials about any complaints made against the plaintiff, Mr Nolan, in respect of his programme.”

Mackin revealed that his client is “currently battling a very rare, life-changing illness and will undergo a very important scan next week.”

“As such, given the moment, we respectfully ask that our client’s privacy be respected during this time and that her identity not be published,” he added.

The woman is one of several members of the public and journalists sued by Nolan in recent years.

In June he ended legal action against The Irish News and Fermanagh journalist Rodney Edwards.

The case arose from reports published by the newspaper in August last year.

In a joint statement, both parties agreed “that freedom of the press is an essential element of any democratic society.”

In 2021, a person who used anonymous accounts to make alleged defamatory comments about Nolan apologized and agreed to pay a six-figure sum.

In a statement issued by the person’s lawyer, they admitted that the claims made were “totally unfounded and baseless.”

Nolan said: “This should be a warning to all trolls.”

At the time, Nolan’s lawyer, Paul Tweed, said legal letters had also been sent to other people.

A BBC spokesperson said it “received correspondence in October 2024 and a substantial response was provided.”

Mr Nolan was asked to comment.