Caroline Flack: Tried By The Tabloids

‍By Emma Jones

Caroline Flack was ‘tried by the Sun newspaper and found guilty’, contributing to her mental health decline and eventual suicide. That is the central allegation explored in a new two-part forensic documentary led by her mother, Christine Flack.

In Caroline Flack: Search for the Truth, the Love Island UK host's closest friends and family challenge long-standing assumptions about the December 2019 incident involving Flack and her boyfriend Lewis Burton. They describe how an intense media storm, fed heavily by tabloid coverage, created a climate in which the 40 year old celebrity felt overwhelmed and cornered.

Shown on Disney+, the documentary follows Christine Flack as she retraces her daughter’s final months. It examines how newspapers, and The Sun in particular under editor Victoria Newton, portrayed the presenter in a manner that pushed her into a severe mental and emotional decline before her death in February 2020. The programme also features testimony from journalist Paul Martin, who speaks candidly about the mechanics of newsroom decision making and the absence of responsibility he witnessed in the coverage of Flack’s case.

At the time, Caroline was awaiting trial for one count of assault by beating, accused of striking boyfriend Lewis Burton with a lamp. This account was later shown to be a misleading representation of what had actually occurred. The Sun escalated speculation by publishing a front-page story built around images of a so-called "bloodbath", taken by Burton. The coverage implied that Burton’s injuries were severe and the result of violence inflicted by Flack. In reality, his injuries were minor and required no treatment, while the blood depicted belonged to Caroline, who had cut herself during an episode of acute distress.

Despite Burton not supporting the prosecution and Flack pleading not guilty, the case rumbled on. Tabloid pressure intensified Caroline's private struggles, compounding existing anxiety. Caroline's mum, Christine reflects on the apparent disparity in treatment: “What I’d like to understand is, was Caroline treated the same as everybody else. Or was she treated differently?”

The documentary shows how misinformation spread quickly. “Lies were being told about her all the time,” Christine says, describing how her daughter had no opportunity to correct the narrative while the police investigation was ongoing.

Caroline's long-time agent, Louise Booth, recalls trying in vain to push back against tabloid depictions. “We knew what the truth was but the newspapers you can tell them until you are blue in the face. At this point Caroline was worth more to them in print to be the villain than the hero that she was six months ago.” Booth adds: “We saw the tide turn against her. We just became completely powerless.”

Christine shares the same view. “It just makes me sad it makes me mad that something as awful as this is going on in Caroline's life, she becomes not a person to the press she's expendable.”

Journalist Paul Martin recalls how the commercial value of Flack’s name dominated editorial thinking. “Every time you put Caroline Flack in the newspapers they sold... She was golden girl... delivering even more in the worst period of her life.”

He recounts being asked whether Flack would give a major interview. When he answered no, due to the case being active, he was met with the response: “Well in that case go f**k her over.”

The programme highlights the turning point in coverage. After a brief period of stability over Christmas, The Sun published its New Year’s Day front page: ‘FLACK’S BEDROOM BLOODBATH’. Her mum recalls the shock; “The way this story reads is that Caroline had hit her boyfriend with a lamp and that was his blood. And that is so far from the truth. That was Caroline’s blood where she'd cut her wrists.”

Her agent, Louise describes her immediate concern: “Obviously we wondered who had took that picture and sent it to the Sun.” The documentary reveals the image had been taken by boyfriend Burton, then passed on by one of his friends.

Mum Christine added: “Once this came out, I don't think anyone thought of anything else then, she was guilty.”

The documentary features testimony from Caroline's close friend Mollie Grosberg, who was among the first to raise the alarm when she was unable to reach Caroline on the day she died. Grosberg says: “Every single person that was there, who let that go to print should be ashamed of themselves, because... that is one of the main reasons why she isn't here today.”

One scene shows Christine telephoning The Sun and asking to speak to editor Victoria Newton. She is left waiting, then disconnected without explanation. Christine recalls editor Newton once telling her she had come into the paper to “clean it up”. Christine responds: “So I'd like a front page apology as large as they put the photo of her blood on the bed.”

Christine questions why so many journalists refused to engage with her during her investigation. “I think it's a mixture of shame, fear,” Martin suggests. He explains how decisions about graphic material would have gone through multiple lawyers and senior staff. In his view, “that decision would have been backed and probably salivated on all day as soon as they got that picture.”

Martin asks why no one checked the basic facts. “Her agent didn’t get a call? You didn’t get a call?” Christine Flack replies: “Nobody got a call. No.”

He adds: “Quite often when a story is so good... they would be like; 'Don't call because that would get in the way of the story'.”

Mum Christine challenges him directly: “You’re a journalist where does the journalism come in... What does the truth matter?” Martin answers: “In my experience it's really just about who's got the best front page.”

The spiral intensified when The Sun ran another story mocking Caroline via a Valentine’s card that displayed a caricature of her with the words “I’ll f***ing lamp you” Christine says this was “another nail in Carrie's coffin.”

The documentary shows the chaotic hours before her death and the fear her friends felt about seeking emergency help due to tabloid intrusion. “We were more scared of her going to hospital in a public environment because of what the press would do than getting her life saved” Grosberg recalls.

The next morning, Caroline’s sister discovered her body after finding the door locked.

Martin recounts a chilling instruction from an editor after Flack died: “Shut down, don't talk about it don't mention anything about Caroline's death.” He compares it to orders issued during the Mirror phone hacking scandal.

Christine later met News UK chief executive Rebekah Brooks, who told her, “Oh everybody was crying in The Newsroom when they heard.” The company offered to create a mental health award in Flack’s name but never issued the printed apology Christine requested. Inaccuracies about the case continue to appear in the press.

The News Agents Interview

Following the documentary’s release, Christine Flack spoke to The News Agents about whether the press landscape has changed.

Jon Sopel asked: “Do you think it's changed at all, or do you still think that if you’re a celebrity you are there to be papped and no one gives much of a damn about the truth...”

Christine replied: “I think it's got worse”. She criticised the government’s decision to abandon Leveson Part Two, saying journalists themselves supported her call for a full inquiry.

Christine was part of the group organised by Hacked Off who met with Lisa Nandy last year to talk about their personal experiences of press abuse, following the meeting there has been no progress, despite the Culture Secretary promising she would take action.

“I met Lisa Nandy and she cried when she heard my story. She’s done nothing. We met her as a group of people saying, 'look we need the second part of the Leveson inquiry acted upon' ...everybody and journalists. Journalists were with me...I worked for a regional newspaper for 30 years I know there's good journalists I know what the standards should be but I think the same standards should be used in national press as well.

Sopel asked whether politicians were simply “scared of the press?”

Christine responded: “I'm so sad about it they are just as scared of the press as the previous.”

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If you or someone else you know is struggling, call the Samaritans free on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org, or visitsamaritans.org to find your nearest branch.

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