Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
A new documentary features an emotional recorded message from Caroline Flack.
Disney+’s latest release, Caroline Flack: Search for the Truth, explores the TV presenter’s final months before she took her own life in February 2020.
The documentary follows her mum, Christine, as she shares an ‘unprecedented look at what really happened’ to the 40-year-old and uncovers the ‘hidden pressures that pushed her daughter to breaking point’.
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Featuring never-before-heard-or-seen messages from Caroline to those closest to her at the time, viewers get a shocking and dark insight into the events surrounding her death.
The Love Island host’s death followed a sharp decline in her mental health while she was facing trial for allegedly assaulting her boyfriend, Lewis Burton, in 2019.
But the two-part documentary highlights the circumstances around this charge and how it was brought about as her solicitor, Paul Morris, says: “It rapidly became apparent to me that Caroline Flack was being prosecuted not for what happened or what she’d done or not done, she was being prosecuted because she’s Caroline Flack.”
Initially, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had recommended she only receive a caution, but this was appealed by London’s Met Police, resulting in her facing a charge of assault by beating.
And as all of this unravelled, Caroline was apparently advised to keep quiet about the allegations. Hounded by the media, she ended up living in a hotel in London, unable to return to her flat due to the constant paparazzi.
Famously, she also of course ‘stepped down’ from her hosting role on the ITV dating show, while facing constant, round-the-clock abuse on social media.
'I’m receiving so much abuse'
And in the Disney doc, the toll this had on her is made harrowingly clear, as she said in a recorded message on her phone: “I’m doing this because I wanna remember what I went through, what my family went through, what my boyfriend went through, what his family went through.
"It’s three days after I’ve been arrested for having a fight with my boyfriend. I’ve always cooperated with the police since they arrived. I was put in a cell, I was promised that I was anonymous and that this wouldn’t go any further because it was a really private situation.”
Clearly emotional in the clip, Caroline says that within five minutes of leaving the station: “It got into the press – all the details, everything. Since then, I lost my job, a job I’ve worked all my life for, I’m living in a hotel, I’m receiving so much abuse.”
Crying, she adds: “It was a fight, I’ve never hurt anyone in my life, the only person I ever hurt is myself.”
'Another nail in her coffin'
Viewers also get an insight into the incessant trolling and abuse online that Caroline faced, with a grim Valentine’s Day card even put on sale poking fun at her.
Covered by news outlets, Christine said this was ‘another nail in her coffin’ and soon after it was published, the star’s friends and family stopped hearing from her before suddenly getting ‘nonsense’ texts. And soon after, on 15 February 2020, Caroline was found dead in her flat.
As highlighted in the documentary, a note was found, reading: “Please let this court case be dropped, and myself and Lewis can find harmony.”
Following her death, Coroner Mary Hassell found that the star took her own life because she knew she was being prosecuted and couldn’t face the extensive media scrutiny that would come with the trial.
The Original two-part documentary premieres 10 November, exclusively on Disney+ in the UK & Ireland
A statement at the end of the doc from CPS says: “Caroline's death was a tragedy and our thoughts remain with her friends and family as they continue to come to terms with, their loss and the circumstances that led to her death. All decisions in this case were made on the basis of the medical opinion available to us at the time.
“A person's celebrity status never influences whether a case is taken forward. We are satisfied that the prosecution was correctly brought."
And the Met Police said: "Caroline Flack's tragic death had a profound impact on many, not least her family and friends who continue to come to terms with their loss. The Commissioner has previously written to Caroline's mother to offer his condolences on behalf of the Met.
“We recognise how terribly difficult the past five years must have been. It is understandable that those closest to Caroline have questions about everything that happened to her in the months before she died, including the police investigation.
“We have been open to those questions and have engaged with a number of independent reviews and an inquest. While there was organisational learning for us on points of process, no misconduct has been identified."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123 or contact Harmless by visiting their website https://harmless.org.uk.
Topics: Mental Health, Celebrity, TV
Jess Battison