Hulu’s new Caroline Flack docuseries unpacks the truth behind her arrest, which took place before her shocking death.
Flack got her start as an actress in the U.K. before transitioning to a presenter with projects such as I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! and The Xtra Factor. She won season 12 of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing and subsequently became the host of The X Factor and Love Island.
Off screen, Flack made headlines when she started dating Prince Harry in 2009, and again again in 2021 when she dated Harry Styles. She was also linked to Jack Street, Andrew Brady and Danny Cipriani before finding love with Lewis Burton.
Flack was arrested in 2019 for allegedly assaulting Burton. She pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on bail, with the condition that she not contact Burton. Flack was due to stand trial despite both her and Burton denying that she physically harmed him.
As a result of the Crown Prosecution Service — who is responsible for all criminal prosecutions in England and Wales — pursuing the case, Flack stepped down as host of Love Island. She died at age 40 by suicide in 2020 after learning the case would go to trial.
Caroline’s mother, Christine Flack, openly criticized the prosecution for charging Caroline —even though Burton didn’t support the case which Christine believed led to her daughter’s declining mental health and untimely death.
Christine’s investigation into Caroline’s arrest and death was the focus of Hulu’s November 2025 Caroline Flack: Search for the Truth. The U.K. government, meanwhile, has stood by their decision to follow protocol with her arrest.
Keep scrolling for a breakdown of Caroline’s legal issues before her death:
The Key Players
Before her arrest, Flack became a household name for hosting Love Island UK from 2015 to 2019. She also made headlines for her personal life, and was dating Burton when he reported an incident at her apartment in 2019.
The Gist
According to the police report, authorities found Caroline covered in blood after arriving at the scene. They claimed Caroline told them she hit Burton in his sleep after accusing him of cheating. Burton had sustained a head wound, according to authorities, but a spokesperson for London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed that he was not seriously injured.
“We confirm that police attended Caroline’s home following a private domestic incident,” Caroline’s rep said in a statement at the time. “She is co-operating with the appropriate people to resolve matters. We will not be making any further comment for legal reasons.”
Caroline was arrested and charged with assault by beating. She pleaded not guilty in court and was released on bail with the condition that she not contact Burton, who requested that the bail conditions be lifted as they remained a couple.
After the news, Caroline stepped down from hosting Love Island.
What Has Been Said
In the months following her arrest, photos from the crime scene were released without Caroline’s consent. The presenter, who struggled with her mental health, reportedly didn’t want details about her history with self harm to be revealed amid her legal issues.
“My daughter had cut herself so badly the night of the incident for which she was arrested that she was taken to two different hospitals and there were concerns for her life,” her mother, Christine, told Eastern Daily Press in 2020.
Christine continued: “How can you claim to have ‘no idea’ that someone may take their life when they have already attempted to do so because of the events in question? … The CPS were fully aware of these matters and the risk when they decided to continue the prosecution.”
What Happened Next
After Caroline learned her case was going to trial, she was found dead by suicide in 2020. Her family then shared an unpublished Instagram message from the former host the day of her death.
In the message, which was published by the New York Times, Caroline “took responsibility for what happened” the night she was arrested and insisted she “was NOT a domestic abuser.”
“I’ve already said all I can say on the tragedy and don’t want words to be misconstrued and need to look after my own mental health. This was the last correspondence I ever had with her. I really did hope she was somewhere lovely,” the post read. “I never knew the extent of her struggles or what was to come. The last message from her to me were love hearts. I’d like to think wherever she is now, she’s at peace and somewhere lovely like I hoped.”
Christine has since criticized chief prosecutor Ed Beltrami after he said it was “right” for the Crown Prosecution Service to take Caroline to court for allegedly assaulting Burton.
“You don’t just fold at the first sign of trouble,” he told Wales Online in 2020. “The facts of this case were the guy had made his complaint, he had phoned the police, he was terrified he was going to be killed, he’s been hit over the head with a weapon, namely a lamp, he’s got a cut to his head, and she’s made an admission to the police at the scene.”
Beltrami said he had no option other than to charge Caroline, even though Burton later posted a message on Instagram denouncing the authorities’ claims.
“This blood isn’t mine and I didn’t get hit over the head with a lamp,” he wrote at the time, “can everyone stop now.”
Christine also shut down the claims, accusing both the prosecutor and the Crown Prosecution Service of “creating the toxic environment, which ultimately led to Caroline’s death.”
“You can only imagine Caroline’s anguish at the perception she had caused someone else an injury that led to so much blood and not being able to say it was hers for fear that it would be obvious that she had made an attempt on her own life — and she would lose her career,” she added.
Christine’s investigation into possible missteps in the case were explored in her Hulu docuseries on her daughter. CPS released a statement featured in the doc defending their protocol.
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