A new docuseries on Caroline Flack’s final months reveals distressing details about the night before her 2019 court hearing. Friends recall fearing for her life after she overdosed in her hotel room, as those close to her questioned if she should even appear in court
A new two-part docuseries titled Caroline Flack: Search for the Truth revisits the former Love Island host’s final months, shedding light on the night before her court appearance in December 2019. The program features interviews with Flack’s mother, Christine Flack, close friend Mollie Grosberg, and her longtime agent Louisa Booth, who detail how they tried to support her during her last days.
Flack, who died by suicide in February 2020 at age 40, was facing an assault charge involving her then-boyfriend, tennis player Lewis Burton. The series outlines how stress over the case and its media attention weighed heavily on her.
In December 2019, police charged Flack after an altercation with Burton. According to the documentary, the incident began when she saw a message from another woman on Burton’s phone. As she tried to wake him to discuss it, she struck him with the phone, leaving him with a minor head injury.
Burton called the police despite Flack’s pleas not to. The documentary reveals that, after the call, Flack harmed herself with a piece of glass, telling her friend she “wanted everything to be over.”
Initially, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) did not intend to press charges, noting in a report that “the injured party does not support the allegation.” However, a Metropolitan Police detective appealed the decision, and the case proceeded.
On the night before her scheduled court appearance, Grosberg recalls that Flack called several people “slurring,” which made her realize “something was going on.” She and a few others rushed to Flack’s hotel room.
“She was completely out of it on the bed,” Grosberg said, adding that Flack had consumed all the alcohol in the minibar and taken prescription tablets. “We were just freaking out because the next day was the hearing, but also I was thinking she’s going to die.”
Following a doctor’s advice, Grosberg tried to make her vomit some of the medication. “A few tablets came out,” she said. Booth also received a call that night from Flack’s friends, saying she had “taken something” and they were unsure what to do.
After receiving medical help, Flack was still expected to appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court the next morning. Booth recalled struggling with the decision.
“By this point, it was 1 or 2 a.m., and she had to be in court early. I kept thinking, should she even go? She was really unwell,” Booth said.
She added that despite her doubts, she decided it was better for Flack to face the hearing. “I’m a mother. Would I let someone do this to my daughter? I didn’t know what was best, but I thought going might be better in the long term.”
They gathered whatever clothes they could find — some borrowed from friends — and helped Flack get ready. Grosberg disagreed with the decision, saying Flack “shouldn’t have gone” because she had barely slept. “She was see-through,” she recalled.
Flack’s final messages and aftermath
The day before court, Flack posted on Instagram that she was having “the worst time” of her life, writing, “I don’t know where to go, who to trust, or who I even am.”
After pleading not guilty to the assault charge, she was released on bail under conditions that barred her from contacting Burton. Following the hearing, she wrote, “It’s going to be a relief when I’m able to give my side of the story.”
Two months later, on February 15, 2020, Flack was found dead by suicide. A coroner’s inquest later determined that intense media scrutiny and the certainty of prosecution played a significant role in her decision. “She knew she would face the media and publicity — it would all come down upon her,” said coroner Mary Hassell during the August 2020 hearing.
Both the CPS and Metropolitan Police provided statements for the docuseries, saying the prosecution had been correctly brought. Police noted there had been “organizational learning” from the case but “no misconduct identified.”
The documentary revisits a tragic night that raised unanswered questions about Caroline Flack’s wellbeing, court pressure, and media scrutiny.
