Archive November 10, 2025

Caroline Flack tragically died in 2020 after she was charged by police for assaulting her boyfriend

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Caroline Flack’s heartbroken mother insists police error was to blame for her daughter’s death as she speaks about the tragedy in a new documentary. The Love Island host took her own life aged 40 in February 2020 ahead of a trial after she was charged with assaulting her boyfriend Lewis Burton.

A note Caroline left in her flat read: “Please let this court case be dropped, and myself and Lewis find harmony.” A new investigation led by Christine Flack highlights what she says are key mistakes and decisions which “made no sense” by the Crown Prosecution Service and the Metropolitan Police.

This, she claims, along with negative media and social media coverage, left her daughter feeling there was “no way out”. Christine says: “They will not admit that they were wrong to push for Caroline to be prosecuted. Because of a police error, my daughter’s died.”

Speaking to the Mirror, Christine said she could not understand why a detective inspector overruled the CPS which initially suggested cautioning Caroline on the night of the incident at her London home in December 2019.

She said: “It would have changed everything. Because they pursued the prosecution, she had to stand down from her jobs. She had to leave her house. It just changed her world.”

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Christine speaks to senior legal figures in the Disney+ documentary series who agree that the TV star should have only received a caution. Former CPS chief crown prosecutor Nazir Afzal studied police documents gathered by Christine.

He tells her: “Having looked at all your evidence I can’t understand why they rushed the judgement. This was a case where there is no previous history, no coercive behaviour. Mr Burton never wanted this case and was adamant.

“This was a one off occasion where she lost her temper and did what she did, which she accepts. For all of those reasons, the very worst thing that should have happened was a caution.”

He added: “I have prosecuted thousands of these cases, none of this makes sense. Almost immediately in the cold light of day, prosecutors would have formed a view this case is going nowhere and they should have stopped the case. They are required to stop the case where there is insufficient evidence. I can’t think of any reason to proceed, unless they were scared of what the media were going to say about them. It is not about losing face, this is about justice. My take on it is Caroline would still be with us if certain decisions weren’t taken in that month or two.”

Jess McDonald, an ex-Met detective constable who had worked in a safeguarding unit dealing with domestic violence, tells Christine: “So much shouts out to me as mishandling.”

She highlights an email challenging the decision to only caution Caroline, in which the detective inspector insists there is no clear admission of guilt. Jess adds: “Caroline never denied that she hit Lewis with the phone.”

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In a statement, she admitted guilt 12 times. Her lawyer Paul Morris said: “This case was prosecuted because it would’ve been more difficult to stop the snowball rolling than let it continue. Saving face, I think adequately describes the stance taken.”

In late December after she was charged, Caroline was not coping well and her agent and legal team got her to see a psychiatrist. Agent Louisa Booth said: “We sent a psychiatric report to the CPS saying she is not fit mentally to go through this. We had professional analysis. It was ignored.”

Christine told the Mirror: “They were going to pursue the case whatever. That’s what Caroline knew in the end. There was no way out.” It is claimed Caroline may have died the night before she was due in court. The documentary reveals that she took pills and drank a minibar dry.

Prosecution lawyer Katie Weiss told the court Lewis had been hit with a lamp and police said the scene was like “a horror movie”.

Christine says Caroline maintained she hit Lewis with a phone, which he confirmed later. On January 1, a story appeared with photos from the scene showing a bed, covered in blood. Christine says the blood was Caroline’s.

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At the time she texted best friend Mollie Grosberg to say: “I won’t get a fair trial. I don’t think I can cope with the shame.” When she heard the case would go ahead on February 13 she texted: “My life is over. My head is throbbing.”

She went into a meltdown, trashing her flat. Friends rushed there and rang an ambulance, but she calmed down. She told them to go home the next morning as her sister was visiting. But Jody arrived to a locked door and later learned Caroline had died.

The Met ­apologised for not keeping a record about why it charged her with assault. An Independent Office for Police Conduct review found no misconduct.

The Met said: “We 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: “All decisions were made on the basis of the medical opinion available. A person’s celebrity status never influences whether a case is taken forward. We are satisfied the prosecution was correctly brought.”

Caroline Flack: Search For The Truth premieres on Disney+ today. Call Samaritans on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org. Call Refuge free on 0808 2000 247.

Caroline Flack recorded a video she intended to use for her own documentary which has now come to light. The video recorded three days after her arrest has now been made public

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TV presenter Caroline Flack spoke about losing her job and suffering abuse over her arrest in a video she recorded just days before her death.

In a video taken after her arrest shown in the Disney+ documentary, a clearly emotional Caroline said: “I’m doing this because I want to remember what I went through and what my family went through, what my boyfriend went through, what his family went through.

“It’s three days after I’ve been arrested for having a fight with my boyfriend. I’ve always co-operated with the police since they arrived. I was put in a cell. I was promised that I was anonymous and this wouldn’t be going further, and it was a really private situation. Five minutes after I left the station, they’ve gone to the press, all the details, everything. Since then, I lost my job, the job I’ve worked all my life on. I’m living in a hotel. I’m receiving so much abuse.”

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Caroline, who is also seen crying in the video, added: “It was a fight. I’ve never hurt anyone in my life, the only person I ever hurt is myself.”

Other phone messages pop up on screen during the two-part series to show the correspondence she was having with friends and family, including a message that said: “I’m having a big panic attack. I think I’m going to prison.”

Another text read: “I literally cannot be papped it’s ruining my life.”

The former host of Love Island, who took her own life at the age of 40 in February 2020, is the subject of Caroline Flack: Search For The Truth, a two-part series where her mother, Christine Flack, investigates the assault charge the star faced and the resulting media storm.

Flack, who won Strictly Come Dancing in 2014 and was also known for presenting on The X Factor and I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! Now!, was arrested in December 2019.

She received a caution following an incident with her boyfriend, but this was overturned after an appeal from the Metropolitan Police and she was instead charged with assault by beating.

In August 2020, a coroner ruled Flack took her own life after learning prosecutors were going to press ahead with the assault charge in relation to an incident where she hit Lewis Burton with her phone while he slept, because of concerns he had been cheating on her.

In the documentary, her mother delves into material from her phones, with voice notes and texts from Flack shedding light on the star’s inner turmoil.

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Giving an insight into Flack’s response following her arrest, her friend Mollie Grosberg said: “The minute that he (Burton) called the police, she just thought, ‘I am done. My career is over. My boyfriend’s gone. I might as well be dead’.”

Also in the documentary, Ms Flack reveals her daughter had always suffered from mental health problems and says that one doctor told her she had bipolar disorder.

“At the time, they used to call it manic depression. She didn’t want to be told that. She didn’t want a label. She hated having this mental health problem, and it was always hushed up. If anyone mentioned it, it was the worst thing you could do,” she said.

Flack’s former agent Louisa Booth claimed a psychiatric report to the Crown Prosecution Service saying she was not mentally fit enough to go through with the court case was dismissed.

“We had professional analysis and that was ignored. We were so taken aback, actually, that they dismissed the report from the psychiatrist,” Ms Booth said.

In 2023, Ms Flack rejected the Metropolitan Police’s apology for not keeping a record about why they charged her daughter with assault. A Met spokesperson 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 entirely understandable that those closest to Caroline have questions about the events leading up to her death, including the police investigation. We have engaged openly with those questions through independent reviews and an inquest, which subjected our actions to significant scrutiny.

“These processes did not identify misconduct for any officer, including in relation to the decision to appeal the CPS outcome. Operational decisions were made in accordance with the legal framework and guidance in place at the time.

“The Metropolitan Police Service fully supports the officers involved in the decisions made. Organisational learning was identified, around record-keeping and documentation of decision-making. These have since been addressed through policy reinforcement and training. The Independent Office for Police Conduct asked the Met to apologise to Caroline’s family for the absence of a recorded rationale in the CPS appeal process. We have done so and acknowledged the impact this has had on them.

“We remain committed to learning and improving, and our thoughts and sympathies continue to be with Caroline’s family and friends.”

A CPS spokesperson 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.”

Caroline Flack: Search For The Truth premieres on Disney+ today. Call Samaritans on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org. Call Refuge free on 0808 2000 247.