BBC Three and iPlayer have announced a new three-part documentary series, Chloe Ayling: My Unbelievable Kidnapping, in which the model tells her story for the first time in a documentary since her abductors were convicted.
The series recounts the 2017 kidnapping of the then-20-year-old glamour model in Italy, where she was drugged, bundled into a bag and taken to a remote farmhouse. She was handcuffed to a chest of drawers and told she would be sold as a sex slave via the dark web. Ayling managed to convince her captors to release her.
The case sparked intense media speculation, with many questioning whether the kidnapping was a publicity stunt. Her kidnappers, Lukasz Herba and his brother Michal Herba, were later found guilty and jailed. Ayling now aims to challenge the doubters and put the past behind her.
In a statement, Ayling said: “I’m delighted BBC Studios are telling my story – not only in my own words, but also through the voices of those directly involved. For years, people have doubted me, often because they don’t understand what really happened – or who I am.”
The series, produced by BBC Studios Documentary Unit, includes interviews with those involved and examines the press coverage and public reaction. It is commissioned by Clare Sillery and Fiona Campbell, with Tom Pullen as commissioning editor. The executive producer is Katharine Patrick.
