Alex Batty has shared an update on his relationship with his mother, ahead of a new documentary following his kidnapping ordeal. In 2023, Alex, then 17 years old, was found in the French Pyrenees after being missing for six years. He had been on the run with his mother and grandfather after they vanished while on holiday in Spain when he was 11.
The Disappearance
Alex was due to return home after one week but was last seen at the Port of Malaga on October 8, 2017. Years passed without any trace, until a delivery driver discovered him in December 2023, with Alex telling him, 'I've been kidnapped.' He had escaped with little cash, no mobile phone, and his skateboard, sleeping by day and walking by night to avoid detection.
Life After Return
Alex has now returned to living with his grandmother Susan in Oldham, where he has completed his GCSEs, college, and even become a father himself. He is now sharing his story in a BBC documentary, opening up about his disappearance and how he rebuilt his life after returning home. The programme sees Alex retrace his years in isolation, including the area where he slept in a tent, sometimes eating only one meal a day, while his mother and grandfather stayed in caravans.
He also uncovers several missed opportunities that could have led to his rescue and speaks to people he met during the six years of his abduction. Talking about filming the documentary on BBC Breakfast, Alex recalled the 'incredible' experience. He said: 'It was nice to go back to France and Spain where I filmed and nice to talk about everything that happened in a lot more detail.'
He added: 'When I went there to begin with, I was stuck there, that's where I lived. But now that I'm back in England, me being able to go there, it was from a new perspective, it wasn't a case of, I'm here and I'm stuck here, I was able to look at it from a completely different point of view. It brought back a lot of memories that I'd forgotten about and made me appreciate being there because I wasn't stuck there.'
Relationship with His Mother
When asked why he wanted to go back, Alex explained: 'I have a very negative way of looking at it of course, but I don't like that. I want to be able to look back on it and enjoy… that's my life and what I went through. I don't want to look back on a big chapter of six years and think, that was horrible. I wanted to go back to try and find everything good that happened there so I can look back on it, tell people about it and basically have a smile on my face.'
He added: 'I've been through it and lived it, so for me it's not extraordinary. I can understand from other people's perspectives why it's quite strange, because obviously it's not a normal way of life. I didn't go to school or do my GCSEs, I didn't go through what everyone else did, so I can understand why it's quite peculiar for other people, but I don't understand how people are amazed by it.'
Alex also opened up about the 'complicated' relationship he has with his mother. He told hosts Jon Kay and Sally Nugent: 'It's non-existent, I wouldn't really like to speak to her. I love her in my own way of course, it's my mum at the end of the day. But I don't know, when I was away for the last maybe year or two years, I didn't have a relationship with her anyway.'
Tribute to His Grandmother
He went on to pay tribute to his grandmother and the importance she holds in his life. 'We're always talking, always on the phone with each other,' he said. 'She's the reason everything went so smooth, I lived in England when I was a child but England has changed and I've changed. She's there every step of the way, giving my pointers, telling me how things are now. She got me into college, she's there, everywhere. She's always there.'
Alex's mother Melanie and grandfather David Batty have never been charged in relation to Alex's abduction, and the police investigation has been closed. BBC Breakfast airs from 6am on BBC One and iPlayer. Kidnapped by My Mum is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
