Russell Brand: On Trial

Ellie’s family and boss share their worries about her leading up to the infamous Facebook post. Unexplained injuries. Becoming withdrawn. Incessant messages. Harassment on the street. Then she started to go missing regularly. When she suddenly moves out of the family home, her family feel they’re losing contact. Eventually she turns up so badly injured she says she can’t take it any more and goes public with claims on social media that go viral and shock the nation.  
 
Warning: This series discusses issues of sexual abuse, self-harm, violence and suicide. If you feel affected by the issues, you can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email [email protected] in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK 
 
From Sky News Storycast, Unreliable Witness is presented by Jason Farrell and Liz Lane  
 
Series Producer: Anne-Marie Bullock
Executive Producer: Louise Cotton 
Sound Design: Matt Wareham 
Additional Journalism: Sarah O’Connell 
Sky Podcasts Editor: Paul Stanworth

At the height of lockdown, 19-year-old Ellie Williams claims on social media she’s been trafficked by an Asian grooming gang across the North of England. Photos of her horrific injuries add to the outrage and the post goes viral – shared more than 100 thousand times.
Social media rumours lead to attacks on Asian men and businesses in her hometown of Barrow-in-Furness. But when she’s arrested for perverting the course of justice, things really explode and there are protest rallies and claims of a cover-up. At the trial the prosecution claims she’d lied, faked text messages and even caused the catalogue of injuries to herself.  
 
In season 6 of StoryCast, Sky News’ Jason Farrell and Liz Lane, who reported on the case at the time, return to Barrow to investigate what could have led her to make these claims and if, underneath it all, there is some other secret buried amongst the lies.
With access to her family, police investigators and those most impacted by her allegations, we ask: Why did Ellie Williams create such an elaborate lie? And what happened AFTER the trial – once all the media attention died down and other allegations began to emerge?

A long serving doctor and his partner agree to help Alexis break out of psychiatric care and flee the country, a decision that has the potential to change all their lives.

This series discusses rape and sexual assault.

Credits -

From Sky News StoryCast, Patient 11 is written and produced by Robert Mulhern. Reporting by Rebecca Thomas and Robert Mulhern. Editing by Paul Stanworth. Data and Forensics by Saywah Mahmood. Social Media by David Chipakupaku. Story commissioner, Dave Terris. Graphics by Kelly Casanova. Press and marketing by Anna Phelan. If you were impacted by this story please email the StoryCast team on [email protected]

Enduring long periods in solitary and having descended to the darkest reaches of psychiatric care, Alexis plots an escape, one, that if successful, will take her thousands of miles from England.

This series discusses rape and sexual assault.

Undiagnosed, legally detained and separated from her daughter for more than a year, Alexis is moved to an all-male psychiatric ward on Christmas Eve, 2013.

What happens next will, ultimately, bring her to the attention of the most powerful institutions in the state.

This series discusses rape and sexual assault.

Following the death of her brother, young mother Alexis Quinn seeks temporary respite in NHS psychiatric care, never imagining that three days, would turn into more than three years, or that her bid to break free would bring her to the attention of UK and European law enforcement agencies.

This series discusses rape and sexual assault.

Young mother and former GB youth swimmer, Alexis Quinn, agrees to enter NHS England psychiatric care following a family tragedy. She could never imagine that her three-day admission will turn into a three-year ordeal.

Then undiagnosed with autism, and often the subject of 24-hour surveillance as well as long periods in solitary confinement, Alexis descends to the darkest reaches of locked-in, psychiatric care. There, she encounters the kind of threat she never could have imagined in a secure mental health hospital. In a bid to break free, Alexis plots a daring escape.

Making it back to her daughter, however, will pit her against some of the most powerful institutions in the State, including the police.

A warning, this series contains discussions about sexual assault.

Credits -

From Sky News StoryCast, Patient 11 is written and produced by Robert Mulhern. Reporting by Rebecca Thomas and Robert Mulhern. Editing by Paul Stanworth. Data and Forensics by Saywah Mahmood. Social Media by David Chipakupaku. Story commissioner, Dave Terris. Graphics by Kelly Casanova. Press and marketing by Anna Phelan. If you were impacted by this story please email the StoryCast team on [email protected]

As fighting rages in the east of the country and against the backdrop of mounting casualties in the mining town of Soledar, Oksana finds some unexpected respite at a Kyiv comedy night.

Meanwhile, in an basement gym, Ilyas finds a world removed from war until the building is plunged into darkness.

OUR DIARISTS

Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv. Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s continues to try and make a life there.

Seva, 41, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.

Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland. As of December 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv.

Ukraine War Diaries uses first-person audio, recorded on the ground in Ukraine, to give an intimate day-to-day perspective of life in a war zone.

EP40 diary entries were recorded using WhatsApp voice note.

From the producers of Sky News’ multi-award winning series – StoryCast.

Producer: Rob Mulhern
Editing: Paul Stanworth
Digital Promotion: David Chipakupaku

In Kyiv, making use of one of the cities bomb-proofed theatres, Oksana books a comedy night for military volunteer husband Seva.

In one of the capital’s restaurants, Seva begins the new year in the company of army comrades who extend an emotional gesture of brotherhood in the form of a knife.

And after saying farewell to his family, Ilyas transports an old car from Poland ear-marked for frontline soldiers, before finding himself in the blast radius of a missile strike in Kyiv.

OUR DIARISTS
Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv. Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s continues to try and make a life there.

Seva, 41, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.

Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland. As of December 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv.

Ukraine War Diaries uses first-person audio, recorded on the ground in Ukraine, to give an intimate day-to-day perspective of life in a war zone.

EP39 diary entries were recorded using WhatsApp voice note.

From the producers of Sky News’ multi-award winning series – StoryCast.

Producer: Rob Mulhern
Editing: Paul Stanworth
Digital Promotion: David Chipakupaku

Against the backdrop of a Kyiv still under siege, Oksana reflects on magical Christmas memories from childhood until a drone attack brings her back to reality with a jolt.

Meanwhile Seva shares the Christmas reality of comrades who continue to fight through the festive period.

And Ilyas, looks to the New Year with hope.

OUR DIARISTS
Ilyas is an IT specialist and married father who fled from Kyiv to Lviv shortly after the war started. His wife Natalia, and two young sons are taking refuge in Poland. As of December 2022, Ilyas is back living in the family apartment in Kyiv.

Seva, 40, is a company CEO and husband to Oksana. Before the war, he travelled across Europe for business. Now, he makes regular supply drops of medical aid and rations to Ukrainian troops on the front line in Eastern Ukraine. He’s originally from a small village near Dnipro.

Oksana, 35, works in overseas education. She lives with her husband, Seva, in an apartment complex in central Kyiv. Many of Oksana’s closest friends have left the country to begin new lives in Europe. Some may never return. She’s continues to try and make a life there. Ukraine War Diaries uses first-person audio, recorded on the ground in Ukraine, to give an intimate day-to-day perspective of life in a war zone.

EP38 diary entries were recorded using WhatsApp voice note.

From the producers of Sky News’ multi-award winning series – StoryCast.

Producer: Rob Mulhern
Editor: Paul Stanworth
Digital Promotion: David Chipakupaku