My lover Caroline ‘tried to kill me’
LOVE ISLAND STAR IN DOCK: HOST FACES TRIAL FOR ASSAULT Flack accused of attacking boyfriend with lamp in bed
CAROLINE Flack yesterday appeared in court accused of assaulting boyfriend Lewis Button as he slept. The 40-year-old former Love Island presenter allegedly hit him with a lamp in an attack that is said to have left them both covered in blood. Police described the scene as like “something out of a horror movie”. Prosecutor Katie Weiss told a court Flack launched the assault after she found texts on Lewis’ phone which led her to believe he had been cheating on her. But he does not support the case against her and insists he is not a victim.
The couple are still together, but Flack is banned from seeing him until her next court appearance.
Ms Weiss told magistrates former professional tennis player and model Lewis, 27, made a desperate 999 call in which he claimed: “I’ve just woken up, she has cracked my head open. She tried to kill me, mate.”
The prosecutor added: “He is almost begging the operator to send help.
“He had been asleep and had been hit in the head with a lamp. His face was covered in blood. She calls him an a***hole repeatedly.
“She had seen text messages which had led her to believe he was cheating on her.” Police arrived within eight minutes of the call from Flack’s flat in Islington, North London.
Ms Weiss said: “Both were covered in blood and in fact one of the police officers likened the scene to a horror movie. She had also smashed a glass and she had sustained an injury.”
Flack was taken into police custody, where she continued to be disruptive, Highbury Corner magistrates heard.
Ms Weiss added:
“Her behaviour gets worse, she flips over a table and then has to be restrained on the ground.”
Flack, who stepped down from hosting ITV’s Love Island, was charged with assault by beating after the alleged attack on December 12. She denies the charge.
Her lawyer Paul Morris interrupted the hearing to tell District Judge Julia Newton that Lewis does not support the prosecution.
He said: “He is not a victim, he is a witness. He would not suggest the injuries are significant in the way the prosecution submit.”
But Ms Weiss added: “He is a victim, he sustained a significant
One of the officers likened the scene to a horror movie
MS WEISS PROSECUTOR ON ALLEGED ATTACK
injury to his head.” She also told how Flack had “flouted” her bail condition not to have any direct or indirect contact with Lewis.
Ms Weiss added: “She breached this almost immediately by posting a message on Instagram by writing, ‘To my boyfriend I love you’.”
Flack now faces a trial, due to begin on March 4. Ms Weiss said bodycam footage from police at the scene and a 999 call would be included in it.
The star had arrived at the court wearing a black coat, scarf and boots before being escorted in by police.
She stood by the glass-enclosed dock to confirm her name, address, date of birth and nationality before the charge was read out.
Lewis turned up separately, wearing a navy parka jacket with a fur-lined hood. He watched proceedings from the packed public gallery. Mr Morris made an application to have Flack’s bail condition banning her from talking to her boyfriend until after the trial lifted.
As Flack wept, he said: “She wants to spend time with her partner. If the conditions were lifted there would be no concerns. It’s not an irrelevant point, it’s Christmas, it’s New Year, she’s suffered enough.
“She is in the public eye. This case has been scrutinised, she will conduct herself properly.”
But District Judge Newton rejected the plea. He told Flack: “We have heard the application to vary bail conditions but the risk remains medium, albeit reduced from high.
“The bail conditions will remain the same to protect Mr Burton.”
An emotional Flack was then seen to hug and kiss her mum by the entrance to court before leaving in a waiting car. She later posted on Instagram: “Thankfully I know a lot of you will not believe all that you have heard and read following today’s court hearing… thank you for your support and love…
“It’s going to be a relief when I am able to give my side of the story.”
She had written on Sunday: “This is the worst time of my life.”
After the hearing, Lewis posted a picture of himself with Flack and wrote: “It’s heartbreaking I can’t see my girlfriend over Christmas.
“What I witnessed today was horrible. She did not hit me with a lamp. Arguments do happen every day in every relationship. Gutted I am not allowed to protect her right now.” Strictly winner Flack has hosted all five series of popular dating show Love Island since it launched in 2015. It has became one of the most-watched reality programmes in the UK. She also hosts the weekly spin-off slot Aftersun. In 2018, Flack was present as Love Island won its first TV Bafta for best reality and constructed factual show. Before becoming a household name, she had presenting jobs on E4 Music and on the CBBC channel before becoming the co-host of action game show Gladiators with Ian Wright in 2009 on Sky One. In 2009, Flack became the presenter of I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! NOW! alongside Joe Swash and Russell Kane.
She left in 2011 to join The Xtra Factor for The X Factor, along with former contestant Olly Murs.
Three years later the pair were promoted to host the main ITV show, replacing Dermot O’Leary.
Flack won Strictly in 2014 with dance partner Pasha Kovalev.
She made her West End stage debut playing Roxie Hart in Chicago in 2018, having previously appeared on stage in a touring version of Crazy For You.
Presenter Laura Whitmore will take over hosting Love Island and Aftersun when filming starts in South Africa next month.