Warning: This documentary contains themes of suicide and domestic violence.
In 2020, British TV presenter Caroline Flack committed suicide two months after she was prosecuted for allegedly attacking her boyfriend. If you were in the UK at the time, it seemed like it was being written about every single day, but we weren't necessarily being told the truth.
Honestly, I'm amazed at how little I knew about what I was seeing every single day. But what's even more telling is that Caroline began planning this documentary just days before her death—and Christina decided to honor that.
Caroline Flack: 'In Search of Truth' sheds new light on national accusations we think we know
For those unfamiliar with Caroline, it's safe to say that she was television's golden girl. Master Love Island United Kingdom, X factor and formidable participant Dancing under strict arrivalher famous roles only scratch the surface of the work she's done over the decades.
All that was lost after a fight with her boyfriend prompted police to ask the CPS to overturn the original decision to give her a warning. Instead, Caroline was charged with assault, despite her boyfriend Lewis Burton repeatedly calling for the prosecution to be dropped.
After a magistrate's hearing, the case never went to trial – Caroline committed suicide before it even began. IN Caroline Flack: In Search of Truth Christina tells us many of the reasons that led to this moment, and I guarantee that your perception of what we were told will change completely.
Disney was kind enough to invite me to a pre-release event for the documentary, but sitting through an entire media screening—an industry that treated Caroline so badly just to make money—was incredibly awkward. I found myself asking myself some tough questions as I sat in silent shock a few hours after watching the new two-parter.
I checked my X/Twitter history. Had I, without thinking, absent-mindedly, contributed to the attacks on Caroline? Did I mention the “lamp grille” (the media wrongly reported that Caroline hit Lewis with a lamp)?
I never had, and I knew it deep down. But the fact that I doubted myself shows the power of social and traditional media combined.
The sudden level of self-doubt I felt was perfectly described by Caroline's older sister Lizzie. Without access to Caroline during the media storm following the magistrate's hearing, Lizzie began to believe media stories about her sister, turning her into a person she no longer recognised.
If an amended CPS verdict resulting from a change in police reporting that led to factually incorrect media reporting could change Caroline's own sister's mind, did anyone else have a chance?
I not only want Caroline Flack: In Search of Truth to make viewers question their relationship with social media and share parasocial opinions, but I want the new documentary to make the truth about Caroline widely known.
Five years have passed, but inaccuracies in her case that we have come to believe are reliable facts are still being reported. If the two-parter doesn't prove that we should all care about Caroline, Christina, and everyone else who finds themselves under such intense public scrutiny in the future, I don't know what will.
Caroline Flack: In Search of Truth streaming now on Disney+ (UK, Australia) and Hulu (US).
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