Imagine raising a wildly successful child, who for two decades stunned the world with their aptitude as a star-studded actress, dancer and television presenter, dated an actual prince and was loved by millions, only to lose that child in the most unfortunate — and most bizarre — of circumstances. That is what happened to Christine Flack, the mother of the late British celebrity Caroline Flack. Her search for justice and transparency surrounding her daughter’s untimely passing is the subject of the documentary series “Caroline Flack: The Search For Truth,” which premiered on the streaming service Hulu on Monday, Nov. 10.
Flack, a presenter on the reality shows “Love Island” and “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!” and the winner of the 12th series of the BBC dance contest show “Strictly Come Dancing,” was found dead in her northwest London home on Feb. 15, 2020. The coroner ruled suicide by hanging. Flack’s passing marked the third “Love Island” cast member to take their own life, following the deaths of cast members Sophie Gradon in 2018 and Mike Thalassitis in 2019.
After her passing, a swarm of negative media coverage began to engulf her already-grieving family, and discussions of an assault on her tennis player boyfriend Lewis Burton, which took place in December 2019, just two months before Flack’s death, became center-stage. Flack’s personal problems, however, go back many years, as revealed in “The Search For Truth.” Untreated mental illness played a role in her personal downfall and untimely passing, which included a suicide attempt she made as a teenager following a breakup. Prior to the docuseries being released, no one — not even close friends of the Flack family — knew of this incident.
The focus, though, is on Christine Flack’s mission to clear her daughter’s name to prove that Flack wasn’t a domestic abuser. Through in-depth investigations, we learn that the case was severely mishandled Crown Prosecution Service, the London Metropolitan Police and the British press. It left her family searching for answers and her close friends wondering why such a bubbly young woman who had made a household name for herself and carried a massive fan base left this Earth.
But as “The Search for Truth” shows, there was a much sensitive and empathetic side to the bubbly TV host, as seen through compassion she displayed to the many contestants that participated in “Strictly Come Dancing” and the love she gave to each of them. According to a Vanity Fair article, Flack was a kind judge who always saw the best in people. “If Christine (the other host) expressed a negative opinion about their actions, Flack would defend them.
Mum, they’re all there for a reason,’” she’d say. Flack was also known for her charitable contributions to organizations such as the Samaritans, Choose Love and Mermaids, an advocacy group that supports transgender youth.
All in all, the show is worth the watch, as it allows viewers to delve into what really happens when the validity is withheld and the consequences that come with it.