‘Liar: The Fake Grooming Scandal’, featuring a score by Robin Schlochtermeier, will be broadcast on Wednesday 17 January at 9pm on BBC Three, and Wednesday 31 January at 9pm on BBC Two.
“Twenty-two-year-old Ellie Williams was jailed for lying about being trafficked and raped by a vicious Asian grooming gang. In May 2020, Ellie Williams posted an extraordinary Facebook message. ‘This is the hardest post I’m ever going to write…’ she began, before detailing horrifying sexual and physical assaults she said she’d suffered for years at the hands of an Asian grooming gang. Ellie’s message quickly went viral, prompting a flood of support in her hometown of Barrow-in-Furness and beyond, as thousands reposted and demanded action. But, shockingly, it was Ellie herself who was arrested. She was charged with seven counts of perverting the course of justice and accused of making multiple false allegations.
Now, for the first time, the truth about Ellie’s claims can be laid open. This hour-long film features never-before-seen police footage of her and hears for the first time from the officers at the heart of the case, the specialist detectives who treated Ellie as a victim of serious crime until they realised they were investigating something very different. It examines why her allegations resonated, and the devastating impact they had in Barrow.”