Catch up TV

Episode 13 May 2025

In 2022, Ellie Wilson’s ex-boyfriend Daniel McFarlane was convicted of raping her twice during their relationship.\n\nThey had met at their university athletics club, and Ellie had thought Daniel was 'the one', the perfect boyfriend. But one night, after returning from a running competition, Daniel raped Ellie. Then, he revealed that he’d done it before, when she was asleep.\n\nDetermined to have proof of what he’d done, Ellie secretly recorded Daniel’s admission on her phone. Ellie went to the police, and the case eventually made it to court, where Daniel was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison.\n\nEllie’s justice journey didn’t end at 'guilty'. Following a bruising experience in the trial, Ellie made headlines after waiving her right to anonymity to challenge Daniel’s defence lawyer, successfully arguing that he repeatedly crossed the line in his questioning.\n\nNow, Ellie has built a significant social media following as a campaigner, fighting to improve the experience of the criminal justice system for survivors of rape and sexual abuse. But Ellie’s decision to go public has come at a cost. She is regularly targeted by trolls on social media who viciously attack her for refusing to present as they imagine a victim should.\n\nAnd whilst Ellie has achieved inspirational success with her many public campaigns, she has only recently begun to confront the personal impact of what happened in her relationship.\n\nIn this emotionally powerful documentary by director Elle Mower, Ellie discovers that her ex-boyfriend is up for parole, halfway through his five-year prison sentence. Whilst she waits to discover if he could be released from prison early, Ellie must confront her own personal trauma away from the spotlight of her campaigns.

Source: BBC 3