For more than a decade, London mum Anna has led a secret double life as a brothel keeper. But in 2024, a break-in at her brothel sparks a potentially deadly chain of events.

Pitted against both criminals and the police, can Anna untangle herself from this hidden world with both her secret and her safety intact? 

The first episodes of The Brothel are out soon.

The series uses the voices of actors to protect the identities of those featured.

EPISODE 7: A new court case finally exposes abuse in Barrow. Jason and Liz have known about these allegations for years but they can only reveal the facts now. The case involves three brothers and it's taken their victims more than a decade to get justice. Now we can tell the story of their crimes and follow a thread leading back to Ellie Williams. She's out of jail and not allowed to talk to the media. But Jason and Liz find her old diaries raise fresh questions.  
  
Warning: This episode contains descriptions of violence and sexual abuse, explicit language, and a reference to suicide  
  
From Sky News Storycast, Unreliable Witness is presented by Jason Farrell and Liz Lane. 

Episode Producer: Soila Apparicio 
Executive Producer: Louise Cotton  
Sound Design: Matt Wareham  
Sky Podcasts Editor: Paul Stanworth

Police material is released, taking us to the moments they discover her battered at her flat and the night before her infamous post. They also reveal her reaction when accused of lying. Meanwhile Liz and Jason are given a psychiatric report charting medical records and interviews which reveal more on Ellie’s background and state of mind. And, finally, Liz hears from the young woman at the centre of it all - directly from prison.   
 
Warning: This series discusses issues of sexual abuse, self-harm, violence and suicide 

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

It’s revealed Mohammed Ramzan has been facing allegations other than from Ellie Williams. Liz and Jason meet ‘Sarah’ - who says she was groomed as a child in Hull and accuses Mo of being involved in the gang responsible. He claims something more sinister is at play. But his anger at the situation sees him back in court – in the dock.  
 
Warning: This series discusses issues of sexual abuse, self-harm, violence and suicide 
 
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

Ellie has been sentenced to 8 and a half years in prison but questions have been raised about what evidence was presented and left out in court. One potential witness who wasn’t called on says she could have supported parts of Ellie’s story. Liz and Jason ask why Williams wasn’t prosecuted in relation to the other men she had accused.  
 
Warning: This series discusses issues of sexual abuse, self-harm, violence and suicide 
 
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

After Covid delays, the trial is finally held and Ellie Williams is in the dock. Liz and Jason were among the reporters at court when the extent of her claims were revealed for the first time, shocking the media and public alike. She’s accused of perverting the course of justice against 5 men, including 4 who are white – of lying to police and falsifying evidence to back up her claims, including causing the horrific injuries to herself. Liz and Jason share some of the shocking twists and revelations of the 11-week trial and what Ellie has to say in her defence.  
 
Warning: This series discusses issues of sexual abuse, self-harm, violence and suicide. 
 
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

The fuse has been lit...and with limited information from police or in the news, social media speculation starts fingers pointing. Barrow is about to hit boiling point. Asian businesses are attacked.  Individuals are targeted. Meanwhile local businessman Mohammed Ramzan is arrested – suspected of being a central figure in the grooming gang. But a senior detective coming onto the case starts to find holes in the account police have been told.  
 
Warning: This series discusses issues of sexual abuse, self-harm, violence and suicide 
 
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

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?