Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story Questions and Theories

Why did the press accuse her of lying about the kidnapping?

The short answer is sexism. One of the things this drama illustrates so clearly is how some people – sections of the press, strangers on social media, investigators – want to control what someone’s trauma looks like. Chloe’s outfit was criticized, she was criticized for not crying enough, or not looking upset enough. In reality, Chloe had been in Italy for a few weeks before she came back to the UK. She had already given evidence at a pre-trial hearing and was happy to be back in her own country. She is also very media-trained and, she says, just not one to cry in front of people.

The same was true for Amanda Knox, when Italian police decided she had not properly grieved for her murdered roommate Meredith Kercher and should therefore be guilty of the crime.

Chloe was in a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation. She did not want to be identified, but her case was reported in the press. She wanted control over her own story and was accused of lying for publicity, or, if she wasn’t outright lying, exploiting the situation for her own gain, despite the fact that she couldn’t work as a model and had to make ends meet somehow.

Despite the fact that Łukasz and Michał were found guilty of her kidnapping with sufficient evidence to prove that they did it and Łukasz’s story constantly changing (he accused her of plotting the kidnapping with him), Chloe still had people accusing her of lying, and told the BBC that she is still being called a liar seven years later. As the show points out, this largely happened when the allegations surrounding Harvey Weinstein first surfaced.

What happened next?

Chloe published a book, which Georgia Lester read, which inspired the show. Chloe appeared on Celebrity Big Brother and was the second person voted off that season.

Łukasz was sentenced to 16 years and 9 months in prison, which was later reduced to 12 years and 1 month, while Michał was sentenced to 16 years and 8 months, which was later reduced to 5 years and 8 months. Michał has now been released from prison.