Caroline Flack
Caroline Louise Flack (9 November 1979 – 15 February 2020) was an English television presenter and actress. Flack grew up in Norfolk and took an interest in dancing and theatre while at school. She began her professional career as an actress, starring in the comedy sketch show Bo' Selecta! (2002), and went on to present various ITV2 shows including I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW! (2009–2010) and The Xtra Factor (2011–2013).
Caroline Flack
15 February 2020 (aged 40)
- Television presenter
- actress
2001–2020
Love Island (2015–2019)
In 2014, Flack won the twelfth series of BBC's Strictly Come Dancing and was praised for achieving a record perfect score in the final. The following year, she began presenting The X Factor, replacing the long-standing presenter Dermot O'Leary, and Love Island, hosting until her resignation in December 2019 after being arrested for assault allegations.
On 15 February 2020, aged 40, Flack was found dead at her home in North East London; in August, a coroner's inquest recorded a verdict of suicide.[2][3]
Early life[edit]
Caroline Louise Flack was born at Chase Farm Hospital, Enfield, London on 9 November 1979,[4] the youngest of the four children of Coca-Cola sales representative Ian Flack and his wife, Christine (née Callis).[5][6] Flack and her twin sister, Jody, were born when their sister Elizabeth was 10 and their brother Paul was 8. Jody, the elder twin by six minutes, was originally supposed to be called Caroline, but her mother decided the name did not suit her.[7][8] Shortly after her birth, her father was promoted to the company's management, and the family moved to Thetford, Norfolk. When Flack was seven, they moved again to nearby East Wretham. Flack attended Great Hockham Primary School and Wayland High School in Watton, Norfolk.[9] She developed an interest in dancing and performed in village pantomimes while at school.[10] As a pupil, she was given medical treatment for being underweight.[11] Between 1996 and 1999 she studied dancing and musical theatre at the Bodywork Company in Cambridge.[6]
Personal life[edit]
Flack had long-term mental health issues, attempting suicide and self-harming on various occasions as a young presenter and actress. She was known not to take the criticism that came with fame well, and TV producer Anna Blue said that "she just wasn't emotionally wired to deal with all the problems that came with being famous".[44]
She dated Prince Harry in 2009, but the relationship ended quickly after the media began reporting on it, according to both of their autobiographies.[45][46] In 2011, she had a brief relationship with One Direction member Harry Styles.[47] Around 2014 and 2015, she was in a relationship with Sam Smith's manager Jack Street.[48] She was briefly engaged to the reality TV personality Andrew Brady in 2018,[42] and dated the rugby player Danny Cipriani in 2019.[49][50]
On 13 December 2019, Flack was charged with assaulting her boyfriend, tennis player Lewis Burton, after an incident reported by Burton at her Islington flat the previous morning.[51] Police found Flack covered in blood when they arrived, and they reported that she admitted that she had struck Burton (saying "I did it, I whacked him round the head like that"), before warning them she would kill herself.[52][53] Her inquest later found that Flack had hit and attacked Burton while he slept as she thought he was cheating, and that Burton had sustained a head wound.[52] On 17 December, Flack stood down from hosting Love Island in order to "not detract attention from the upcoming series".[54]
It was later reported that Flack was glad for the break from her hosting role as she was experiencing "personal issues" and had been suffering from an emotional breakdown for "a very long time".[55][56][57] Despite this, the show's producers said that the "door was open" for a possible future return as host.[58] Flack pleaded not guilty to the charges at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court on 23 December 2019. Her solicitor told the court that Burton did not support the prosecution and that "he is not the victim, as he would say, he was a witness".[59] She was released on bail with the condition that she not contact Burton and was due to stand trial on 4 March 2020.[59] Burton posted an affectionate Valentine's Day message on his Instagram profile the day before she died.[60] Flack's management criticised the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for continuing with what her management termed a "show trial", even after Burton decided not to support the prosecution.[61][62] The CPS chief prosecutor responded that he was unaware of Flack's background and did not want to "do what you think is popular".[63]
Legacy[edit]
In February 2020, Flack's ex-boyfriend, Andrew Brady, set-up a fundraiser in Caroline's name for the trans children's charity Mermaids, which Flack was passionate about.[85]
In February 2021, on the anniversary of her death, a mural of Flack was painted by artist Scott Wilcock on a wall in Wigan as a tribute. It featured a quote by author Jennifer Dukes Lee that Flack had requoted, "In a world where you can be anything, be kind".[44]
In June 2021, several of Flack's friends participated in a charity fundraising event that was dedicated to her memory. The event, called "Climb for Caroline", challenged participants to climb 24 peaks in the Lake District within a 24-hour period. Proceeds from the event were donated to the Samaritans. One of Flack's friends who participated, Olly Murs, noted afterwards that the event was a particularly appropriate remembrance of Flack because exercise was one of the strategies she had used to manage her mental health.[86]