TV celebrity had warned she would kill herself, court heard

● Caroline Flack was accused of assaulting her boyfriend

Caroline Flack told police she would kill herself after she allegedly assaulted her boyfriend in December.

The TV presenter was found dead at the age of 40 at her home in east London on Saturday, after taking her own life.

Flack, described as “vulnerable” by her management, had pled not guilty to assaulting boyfriend Lewis Burton at her former flat in north London in a court hearing in December.

Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court heard that, in the aftermath of the alleged incident, Flack told police “I did it” and then warned she would kill herself.

Flack was arrested and charged with assault by beating after police were called to her flat in Islington on December 12.

The Metropolitan Police declined to comment, although further detail may emerge at an inquest.

Flack stepped down from presenting the current winter series of Love Island after the alleged assault.

The ITV programme did not air on Sunday night, but was back last night with a tribute to Flack.

An ITV spokeswoman said: “Many people at ITV knew Caroline well and held her in great affection. All of us are absolutely devastated at this tragic news.”

Ambulance crews were called on Friday night to a property in Clapton where Flack was thought to have recently moved, but a London Ambulance Service spokesman refused to confirm or deny reports the paramedics attended her flat.

Her death prompted tributes from celebrities.

It also brought questions about the decision to persist with prosecuting Flack for the alleged assault on her boyfriend, and about the pressures faced by TV celebrities from the press and social media.

Her management firm criticised the Crown Prosecution Service for pressing ahead with what it called her “show trial” even after her boyfriend said he did not support it.

By Sunday evening, an online petition calling for a government inquiry into “the practices and policies of mainstream media organisations and social media platforms in their efforts to protect members of the public from harm” had more than 200,000 signatures.

The tragedy has put the spotlight back on the pressures which come with TV celebrity.

Flack is the fourth person linked to the ITV2 dating programme to have killed themselves.

COURT CASE: Caroline Flack stepped down from Love Island after the alleged assault