Documentary exploring the reality of grooming in Barrow-in-Furness
Year: 2026
Certificate: 18
In 2020, Ellie Williams claimed that she had been the victim of an Asian grooming gang operating in the Cumbrian town of Barrow-in-Furness. Her allegations caused uproar, but it was discovered they were a lie – as a result, Williams was sent to prison for perverting the court of justice for eight-and-a-half years.
Was there a wider truth behind what she said, though? And what is the situation in Barrow today? Williams was released after serving four years but can’t talk to the media as a condition of her release, so she doesn’t take part in this questioning documentary. We do hear extensively from her mother, though, and that strand is part of a dig into the wider story of grooming in Barrow, which opens with a look at how Williams’s case unfolded.
Filmed over three years, it’s a raw and urgent-feeling three-parter that digs behind the headlines to hear the harrowing experiences of people on the ground and features an impressive array of contributors. (Three episodes)
