Flack boyfriend’s heart left ‘broken’
Prosecutors face questions over death of TV presenter ahead of possible trial
THE BOYFRIEND of Caroline Flack has said his “heart is broken” following her death as the Crown Prosecution Service faced criticism for pursuing a prosecution against the television presenter over an alleged assault.
Ms Flack was found dead at the age of 40 at her home in east London after taking her own life, and her partner, Lewis Burton, said that he would now be her “voice” and would “get all the answers”.
Professional tennis player Mr Burton was not allowed to have contact with his girlfriend, who hosted the ITV2 dating show Love Island, since late last year due to her bail conditions over charges of an alleged assault on him.
Beside a picture of them together posted on Instagram, he wrote: “My heart is broken, we had something so special.”
Mr Burton, 27, added: “I will be your voice baby I promise I will ask all the questions you wanted and I will get all the answers nothing will bring you back but I will try make you proud everyday. I love you with all my heart.”
Ms Flack’s family confirmed that she died on Saturday, and the news prompted a flood of tributes but also questions about the decision to press ahead with prosecuting
for the alleged assault on Mr Burton, as well as the pressures faced by television celebrities from the Press and social media.
Ms Flack, who was described as “vulnerable” by her management, stepped down from presenting the current winter series of the dating reality show Love Island after she was alleged to have assaulted Mr Burton at her thenflat in Islington, north London, in December.
She entered a not guilty plea at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court to the assault charge and was released on bail, with conditions that stopped her having contact with her boyfriend ahead of a trial in March.
In a statement on Saturday night, her management company criticised the CPS for pressing ahead with what it called her “show trial” even after her boyfriend said he did not support it.
Francis Ridley, of Money Talent Management, said: “In recent months Caroline had been under huge pressure because of an ongoing case and potential trial which has been well reported.
“The Crown Prosecution Service pursued this when they knew not only how very vulnerable Caroline was but also that the alleged victim did not support the prosecution and had disputed the CPS version of events. 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.”
The CPS declined to comment on Ms Flack’s case, but said prosecutors review every case referred to them by police and provide legal advice during investigations.
Talent agent Jonathan Shalit
told BBC Radio 5’s Stephen Nolan that Ms Flack received “more negative press than a terrorist or a paedophile” over the trial.
By yesterday afternoon, an online petition calling for a government inquiry into “the practices and policies of mainstream media organisations and social media platforms” had more than 125,000 signatures.
Ms Flack, who won the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing contest in 2014, is the fourth person linked to Love Island to have killed themselves.
Sophie Gradon, who appeared as a contestant in 2016, was found dead at her home in 2018 at the age of 32. Her boyfriend Aaron Armstrong, who had found her body, killed himself three weeks later. He was 25.
Mike Thalassitis, who appeared in the 2017 series, was 26 when he was found dead in a park in March last year.
Caroline had been under huge pressure because of an ongoing case.
Francis Ridley, of Money Talent Management.