Five vital issues raised in Disney+ documentary Caroline Flack: Search for the Truth

This article contains discussions of suicide and mental health which some may find upsetting.

"I want the real Caroline to be remembered – not the Caroline that was portrayed in the press in the weeks before her death," Christine Flack writes in Radio Times.

Caroline Flack: Search for the Truth follows Christine's pursuit for answers about the final months of her daughter's life, and examines Caroline's vilification in the press and failures from institutions that led to Caroline tragically taking her own life in 2020.

Weeks before her death, Caroline was due to face trial on assault charges, to which she pleaded not guilty. The alleged victim, her boyfriend Lewis Burton, did not support prosecution.
The subsequent coverage of the presenter's departure from her role as host of Love Island and her legal issues have been widely criticised following her death, both of which are further examined in the documentary.
As the documentary follows Christine's investigations for answers, here are six key learnings from Caroline Flack: Search for the Truth.

1. The police had originally decided to caution Caroline Flack

In December 2019, Caroline Flack was charged with assaulting her boyfriend Lewis Burton, after an incident reported by Burton at her London flat.

As relayed in the documentary, the pair had allegedly got into a drunken argument after Caroline found messages from a third party on Burton's phone, which she confronted him about.

When police arrived at her home, it was reported Caroline had admitted to striking Burton.

"I did it, I whacked him round the head like that," the TV presenter told police.

In the documentary, Christine discusses looking through the "original decision" from the Crown Prosecution Service, which read it did not believe "that the case is in the public interest to prosecute, as the injured party does not support the allegation".

The report continued: "There is no domestic violence history between the parties. The suspect is 40 years old and has no previous convictions. The cut the injured person did not require medical intervention."

It was shown that the CPS had initially wanted to give Caroline a caution, but that was until a detective allegedly challenged the decision, saying she believed Caroline should be charged.

In the documentary, Christine spoke with former Metropolitan Police detective Jess McDonald, who examined the email challenging the CPS's original decision.

McDonald explained: "She writes that the crux of the CPS's argument is that there are sufficient grounds to issue a caution, as there is a clear admission of guilt. But she says, 'We argue there is not', however, from reviewing all the evidence, Caroline admits guilt consistently.

"She never denies that she hit Lewis with the phone. She admitted guilt 12 times. So I don't understand how this is the opening line.

"But also, she writes of Caroline, 'She has caused a significant injury as such, this is most certainly not a minor offence'. Well, that's absolute nonsense. Louis didn't even receive treatment."

A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service said: "Caroline's death was a tragedy and our thoughts remain with her friends and family as they continue to come to terms with their loss and the circumstances that lead to her death.

"All decisions in this case were made on the basis of the medical opinion available to us at the time. A person's celebrity status never influences whether a case is taken forward. We are satisfied that the prosecution was correctly brought."

2. The CPS "ignored" Caroline's mental health assessment

The night of the incident, Caroline was treated in hospital for harming herself, and as such, "it was evident that there should have been a greater mental health assessment and impact that a prosecution would have on her mental health".

A psychiatrist had said Caroline's mental health state was "very poor" and a decision was made to "disclose that to the prosecution".

Caroline's agent Louisa Booth shared that a psychiatric report was sent to the CPS, but claimed it "was ignored".

"We were so taken aback, actually, that they dismissed the report from the psychiatrist," Booth said.

3. Misrepresentations over what hit Lewis Burton's head

It had been alleged that Caroline hit Burton over the head with a lamp, though there were several inconsistencies in police reports.

During the magistrates hearing, prosecutor Katie Weiss said: "He [Burton] said he had been asleep and was hit over the head by Caroline with a lamp, causing a visible cut to his head.

"She had also smashed a glass and she had sustained an injury."

The documentary features a discussion between Christine and Caroline's older sister, who looked at the report written on the night by the police.

This reported stated it was "unclear what object was actually used to assault Mr Burton, he initially said to officers that he assumed it was a desk fan or a lamp. Mr Burton stated, I don't know what it was".

"There was no compelling direct evidence that anyone had been hit with a lamp during Caroline's interview and caution, and Caroline's position always was that she had the phone in her hand," Caroline's lawyer explained. "She went to rouse him awake and the phone connected with him. It couldn't have been more clear to anyone that read that transcript."

The police report further added: "Ms Flack's phone has been seized as it has a significant amount of blood on it and a crack on one of the corners, suggesting this may have been the weapon."

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Service said: "Caroline's Flack tragic death had a profound impact on many, not least her family and friends who continue to come to terms with their loss.

"The Commissioner has previously written to Caroline's mother to offer his condolences on behalf of the Met. We recognise how terribly difficult the past five years must have been.

"It is understandable that those closest to Caroline have questions about everything that happened to her in the months before she died, including the police investigation.

"We have been open to those questions and have engaged with a number of independent reviews and an inquest. While there was organisational learning for us on points of process, no misconduct has been identified."

4. Caroline had to move houses at 3am to avoid press intrusion

During the period between her arrest and trial, Caroline was forced to live in hotels, unable to return to her home due to intrusion from press and paparazzi.

After a while, it became clear Caroline needed her own home, and to escape the eyes of photographers, she and her family helped her move in the early hours of the morning.

Caroline's friend Mollie said: "Everything was so, like, cloak and dagger, because the fear of being caught or people knowing where she was so scary that all of this had to happen in the middle of the night."

Her mother added: "She had to move out at three o'clock in the morning. But luckily, Jodie knew of a removal company that would do that, and they were lovely."

All of her belongings were moved into a gated apartment "that actually nobody ever found out where she was".

"I think that gave her a sense of normality," Mollie said.

5. The former chief prosecutor who defended the CPS's decision to prosecute Caroline admitted she should have been given a caution

Former chief prosecutor Nazir Afzal, who had once been in support of the CPS's charges against Caroline Flack, told Christine that the case against Caroline doesn't make sense.

He said: "A prosecutor doesn't do their work in isolation. It relies upon what the police provide them with. So if the police tell them serious injury, blood is everywhere and we are really concerned that it might be repeated, I can see how a prosecutor might come to conclusion that we need to put this before a court.

"You have to accept the police to tell you the truth, otherwise, the whole system collapses doesn't it? That said, having looked at all your evidence, I can't understand why they rushed judgment. This was a case where there's no previous history, where there is no controlling or coercive, powerful dynamic.

"Mr Burton never, ever wanted this case, was adamant this case should not be prosecuted. It wasn't just reluctant, adamant. This was a one-off situation where she lost her temper, whatever the reason was, and she did what she did, which she accepts. For all of those reasons, the very worst thing that should have happened is a caution."

He went on to say that, knowing what he knows now, "none of it makes sense".

He continued: "Almost immediately, in the cold light of day, prosecutors looking at this case, would have formed the view this case is going nowhere, and they should have stopped the case.

"In fact, they're required to stop the case where there is insufficient evidence, where it's not in the public interest to proceed, and I can't think of any reason to proceed, other than being scared of what the media will say about them. But you know, it's not about you losing face. This is about justice.

"My takeaway is that Caroline would still be with us if certain decisions weren't taken back in that month or two."

Caroline Flack: Search for the Truth is available to watch now on Disney+. You can sign up to Disney+ from £5.99 a month now.

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