A 3-part documentary will revisit the case of Ellie Williams who made a viral Fb submit with far-reaching penalties through the COVID-19 lockdown.
Ellie Williams, left, was jailed for perverting the course of justice (Picture: Courtesy of Sky)
A case thought to be one of many UK’s most ‘extraordinary’ is being examined in a brand new documentary.
Launching later this 12 months, The Lie That Uncovered the Reality returns to the case of UK teenager Ellie Williams, who alleged she had been trafficked by a grooming gang. Her submit outlining the purported abuse went viral on Fb through the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown and triggered a surge of hate-related crimes in opposition to the Asian group in her hometown of Barrow.
In January 2023, a jury decided that Ellie had fabricated her account and gone to extraordinary lengths to border 5 males, together with self-inflicting accidents. She acquired an eight-and-a-half 12 months jail sentence for perverting the course of justice, experiences the Mirror.
A brand new documentary will re-examine the case, incorporating interviews with Ellie’s household and survivor testimony, making an attempt to discover whether or not there was any “fact beneath the lies.” It can additionally examine whether or not the emphasis on demonstrating that Ellie had fabricated her story resulted within the dismissal of a broader grooming drawback.
In accordance with the sequence synopsis: “When Ellie Williams’ allegations of grooming went viral, they tore the city of Barrow aside and triggered nationwide outrage. Police shortly denied there was a grooming gang and Ellie was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in jail.”
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It claims: “This three-part sequence reframes the Ellie Williams case, shifting past a single query of fact or lies to reveal a far wider and extra troubling story. The sequence sheds new mild on the Ellie Williams case, in addition to uncovering accounts from different girls in Barrow whose allegations of abuse by a bunch of predominantly Asian males had been dismissed or ignored.
“The Lie That Uncovered The Reality additionally explores how far-right teams have weaponised such circumstances to gasoline outrage and distrust whereas companies, cautious of racism accusations, have typically averted confronting perpetrators’ ethnicity. “
Her household may also make an look within the sequence (Picture: PA/Cumbria Police)
The sequence is being produced by Sandpaper Movies, whose earlier credit embrace The Betrayed Women and A Lethal American Marriage.
Sandpaper’s government producer Henry Singer commented: “We might beforehand made a movie on the Rochdale grooming scandal so when the Ellie Williams story broke, one thing did not sit proper with us with how the press was telling it. It simply felt there was extra to it.
“That was the beginning of a three-and-a-half-year journey, navigating a tough panorama to separate truth from fiction. In so doing, we found there was a a lot bigger story to inform – not simply in Barrow – however nationally.
“The abuse of younger women has been ignored and dismissed for a lot too lengthy, and we hope the sequence does justice to their voices and sparks a long-overdue debate.”
The forthcoming documentary will comprise three 60-minute episodes. A exact launch date has but to be confirmed, however it can arrive on Sky and NOW later this 12 months.
The Lie That Uncovered the Reality is coming later this 12 months to Sky and NOW.
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