Copyright mirror
Caroline Flack was the kind of celebrity who was always busy, but she made time for journalists and helped me quite a few times in my career. Once when we were together in New York for the X Factor in 2013 and she had to speak to myself and another journalist she knew well. Rather than give us our allotted 15 mins, she stayed for lunch and after the work chat was out the way, we were free to talk about TV and have a bit of a gossip about other stuff going on at ITV. Another time around that period I was at a private party thrown by Gary Barlow. She was there with a boyfriend but Harry Styles was also there. They had split up previously but were clearly still good friends and were enjoying drinking together. At one point Harry got behind the bar and was serving us all shots. Caroline thought it hilarious that I couldn’t take photos or write anything about it, and I must admit I found it funny too (hopefully she wouldn’t mind me saying this now). And then there were the early Love Island years, Caroline had found a show she loved and would tour the house with us before sitting down to chat. The tone of the interview might depend on what her situation was romantically, but Caroline was always entertaining to speak to and interested to hear what we thought of the contestants and the changes to the villa. We were not super close, but I interviewed her on and off for around 15 years and I could call or message her for a favour. She once gave me the initials of a music star doing I’m A Celebrity, refusing to give me a full name as it felt too much of a betrayal to ITV, but teasing me enough to set a fun challenge(it took me two days but I worked it out). And when I launched a TV podcast in 2018 and wanted celebs to give me their favourite box set for listeners to binge, I asked Caroline if she could help and she sent me a brilliant voice note with exactly what I needed within 24 hours. So it’s not much in return, and arguably too little too late, but after everything she gave me, I’ve spent the last few days trying to find some words for Caroline and her family. The first thing I want to say is simple: I’m sorry. Getting apologies from journalists and institutions in particular, is something Caroline’s mum Christine Flack has been fighting for. They don’t cost anything, they are not a sign of weakness and sadly they won’t bring Caroline back. But if the Met Police or anyone else could follow my lead this week, I know it would bring some comfort to the family. The Disney+ documentary out today makes it clear some mistakes were made and a number of people from all levels of the investigation, court case and aftermath, could and should have done better. Caroline and boyfriend Lewis Burton had got into an altercation in December 2019 and he called 999 after she hit him over the head. What the Crown Prosecution Service initially said was a cautionary offence was upgraded by the Met police officer in charge that night, and so Caroline was forced to attend court some days later charged with assault. Looking back I can see I wrote the story up for the Mirror from our London office. Prosecutor Katie Weiss told the court that Lewis was hit with a lamp and he had a “significant” head injury. She insisted police described the scene as like "something of a horror movie”. Except now, watching this documentary, studying the evidence and speaking to Christine myself, I see that things she said do not appear to match up with the police report. The knock on effect was many of the media reports from that day give what I feel is a distorted impression too. Lewis blurted out to police he may have been hit by a lamp, a fan, and then admitted he didn’t know what it was. He later agreed with Caroline that it was his phone that was used and said this on social media. In fact Caroline’s mobile was the only thing taken from the scene as evidence. Why Ms Weiss wasn’t given this information or said a lamp was used in court, only she and the CPS know, but it was said in open court and so was reported to millions of people as a fact by a large number of journalists including TV news bulletins. Secondly, the blood at the scene was made to sound part of some huge fight and part of what the prosecution said was a “significant” head injury Lewis had. But it was in fact Caroline’s own blood. She had hurt herself after becoming so agitated at the scene when police were called. Sadly as she said, Caroline was more likely to hurt herself than do Lewis any serious damage. He is caught on the body cam footage more worried about her than himself. A source at the CPS insisted to me they can only rely on information provided by police as part of their file of evidence. The new Disney+ documentary shows so many people let Caroline down in my opinion, or made unusual or questionable decisions on the night and in the days following it. When you combine them all together, I can unfortunately see how, in her fragile state, Caroline must have felt she had no way out. It is important people watch it now, so they can see what really happened, what Caroline was going through, and why her family and friends are so angry and upset. Perhaps it could also have an added bonus of changing how we respond to something or someone differently in the future. Caroline could be funny, charming and cheeky. That’s how I remember her. You would occasionally hear that she was unhappy about press stories or was “struggling a bit”, but nothing on the magnitude of the real mental health issues she was suffering. Even 5-10 years ago these things were not openly discussed. I wish they were. The last time I spoke to her was to send her a brief message in December 2019. I would prefer to keep the details private but posts she put on social media had worried me, and no doubts lots of her followers, after the altercation with Lewis. She replied to me, but I was unaware of how unwell she was at this time. I thought I was only doing my job in December 2019 when I wrote up the story from court that day, but in fact I was unknowingly letting her down. Her determined mum Christine has clearly been a brilliant champion for her daughter over the last five years, getting hold of paper work and videos and statements which form the basis of the Disney+ series. I don’t know how she has managed to do it after what has happened. But she told me whilst she is working on the project she had to think it is “about someone else” and not Carrie, as she knew her daughter. She also says finishing the documentary has provided her some relief, which I was pleased to hear. I’ve no doubt Caroline would be proud of what her mum has achieved and how she has given her a voice and a chance to re-tell the last months of her life. In Caroline’s final message on instagram, which I included in my story the day she was in court, Caroline said: “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." It’s over five years later, but thanks to her mum, Caroline is now finally doing just that this week. The Met police said: “Caroline Flack’s 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.” The CPS 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 led 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.” New Caroline Flack Disney+ documentary highlights errors in court and subsequent reports as well as other issues and discrepancies,In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. Refuge is the largest domestic abuse organisation in the UK and can be Contacted free 24/7 on 0808 2000 247.
