FLACK FEARED A ‘SHOW TRIAL’
TV star terrified about police bodycam film of her She had warned officers she would take her own life Did 999 crew go to her flat the day before tragedy?
TROUBLED star Caroline Flack had warned police she would take her own life, it emerged last night.
The 40-year- old was taking antidepressants as she battled mental health problems and was terrified of the prospect of her upcoming trial.
It was claimed yesterday paramedics had been sent to her home the day before she was found dead, following fears for her welfare, but she was not taken to hospital.
The distraught TV presenter was understood to be horrified by the prospect of a ‘show trial’ over an alleged assault on her boyfriend and was worried she could not cope with the fallout.
Friends said she was tormented over the idea of a jury being shown police ‘bodycam’ footage taken during the night she
was accused of attacking Lewis Burton, 27. She had hoped the trial would not go ahead.
A court had heard police found the pair covered in blood and that Miss Flack had cuts to her wrist. The revelations about her mental health prompted questions about whether she was given enough help to tackle her depression and panic attacks.
Police last night refused to reveal if they had referred the star to mental health services.
As stars paid tribute to the Love Island presenter, friends asked if prosecutors, medical professionals and her former bosses at ITV had missed chances to save her.
ITV cancelled scheduled Love Island episodes over the weekend but said the show would return tonight with a tribute to Miss Flack, who presented five series before stepping back following her arrest. In other developments: Miss Flack’s management called the case against her a ‘show trial’ without merit;
Mr Burton raged against a court ban which had kept him and Miss Flack apart;
Fellow TV presenter Laura Whitmore warned of the pressures faced by those in the public eye, saying: ‘It’s gone too far’;
Government minister Grant Shapps said broadcasters owed a duty of care to reality show contestants and presenters.
Miss Flack died at her home in Stoke Newington, east London, on Saturday. Her death is understood to have come just hours after she learned prosecutors had ruled she would face trial over Mr Burton’s alleged assault.
Her management team said the Crown Prosecution Service knew she was ‘vulnerable’ and condemned the decision to go ahead with the case next month. Mr Burton, who made the original 999 call to report the assault, later said he did not want her to face charges.
Miss Flack was pronounced dead at the scene after being found ‘unresponsive’ inside her flat. It later emerged that paramedics had been called to her road on Friday night. London Ambulance Service said: ‘Crews attended and, following a clinical assessment, the person was not taken to hospital.’
The star had spoken publicly about her battle with depression and panic attacks, which began after she won Strictly in 2014. Friends said she had become ‘fixated’ by the prospect that police video footage of her arrest would be made public.
A court hearing was told Mr Burton dialled 999 at 5.25am on December 12 and said he was being assaulted by Miss Flack. He told police she had read text messages on his phone and thought he was cheating on her, and had attacked him while he was asleep.
At a hearing at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court last year, prosecutors said police found the couple covered in blood and said Miss Flack had two cuts to her left wrist after smashing a glass.
Officers were forced to restrain her, they said, and when she was cautioned, she told police she would kill herself, the court heard.
Her lawyer Paul Morris said Mr Burton disputed the CPS’s account and did not want her to be prosecuted.
The pair remained in a relationship and begged to be allowed to see each other, but the court imposed bail conditions which banned Miss Flack from contacting Mr Burton, meaning they were forced to spend Christmas, New Year and Valentine’s Day apart.
Friends said Miss Flack was left feeling isolated and scared and was prescribed antidepressants again. One said: ‘Her biggest fear was that the bodycam footage would be made public. She realised that it was going to be shown in court if it came to court.
‘She felt that from that moment her life would be ruined forever. I hear that the footage is quite distressing.’
Miss Flack’s agent Francis Ridley, of Money Talent Management, said: ‘The CPS pursued this when they knew not only how very vulnerable Caroline was but also that the alleged victim did not support the prosecution. The CPS should look at themselves today and how they pursued a show trial that was not only without merit but not in the public interest. And ultimately resulted in significant distress to Caroline.’
Lawyer Nazir Afzal, a former CPS chief prosecutor, said prosecutors could halt proceedings if the risk to the defendant’s health outweighed the public interest in them standing trial. But he said they were under pressure to pursue convictions for domestic violence amid concerns that too many prosecutions were dropped.
An ITV insider insisted it had maintained contact with Miss Flack, and had offered her support.
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