TV historian Mary Beard names and shames her Twitter troll The Twitter logo is displayed at the entrance of Twitter headquarters in San Francisco. Picture: AFP Photo/Kimihiro Hoshino/Files Source: AFP A LEADING historian got her own back on Twitter trolls yesterday after using the site to name and shame a student posting vile abuse on her profile. Mary Beard retweeted - or forwarded - to her thousands of followers a message from Oliver Rawlings in which he called her a 'filthy old slut' with a revolting sexual comment. It prompted a flurry of online support for the 58-year-old TV presenter - including an offer from one of her 42,000 followers to pass on the home address of her abuser's mother. Within minutes, Rawlings, 20, tweeted her a grovelling apology. Professor Beard, a Cambridge University classicist said she decided to retweet the insults because exposing trolls was the best tactic. "I have increasingly opted for name and shame," she said. It has to be outed. And maybe his friends can say 'stop'. One of her own followers provided the 'stop' with the offer of the family address. John Wilson contacted her saying: "Mary, if you would like to send a copy [of] @Rawlings153's tweet to his mother, Joanne, I'd be happy to give you the postal address." Shortly afterwards, Rawlings wrote: "I sincerely apologise for my trolling. I was wrong and very rude. Hope this can be forgot and forgiven. Thanks 4 showing me the error of my ways. Professor Beard, who is currently presenting a BBC2 program on Roman emperor Caligula, accepted his apology with a simple 'thank you', adding: "Sorry about that nasty retweet. But I'm not going to be terrorised. Both she and Rawlings, a former pupil at $14,000-a-year Cheadle Hulme School in Cheshire, deleted the original message he sent. However, her many followers then turned the tables on Rawlings, berating him for his behaviour until he eventually tweeted: "Please leave me alone I'm sorry." According to Rawlings's Facebook page, he is a student at Nottingham University. Last night there was no answer at his parents' $1.7 million gated home in Altrincham, Cheshire. A neighbour said he lived there with his parents and a younger brother and sister. The neighbour said: "His mum and dad will go spare at him." Rawlings sent his original message while Professor Beard was discussing trolls on Jeremy Vine's show on BBC Radio 2. He also addressed Vine, saying: "What do you think @TheJeremyVine arrest me? I'm no idiot, I'm not sad Twitter is my voice. And I will say it to your face too. It was not the first time she has been targeted by online bullies. Earlier this year, after appearing on the BBC's Question Time, one described a plan to rape her while others made crude comments on her looks. Professor Beard also congratulated Caroline Criado-Perez for standing up to trolls, saying: "We've shut up and put up too damn long."