In August 2017, 20-year-old glamour model Chloe Ayling made headlines after she walked into the British consulate in Milan and claimed she had just been released after six days of captivity. Her story was a shocking one: after travelling to Italy for an assignment, she had been kidnapped, injected with the tranquilliser ketamine, stuffed into a holdall bag and later told she would be auctioned as a sex slave on the dark web.

The experience would have undoubtedly been a traumatic one; however, her account came under a lot of scrutiny from the press. Was the astonishing story true or was she simply a young woman looking for her moment in the spotlight? And if she was telling the truth, why had she been caught on CCTV footage in an Italian village, holding her alleged kidnapper Lukasz Herba’s hand? Herba would later claim in court that they had dreamed up the project together to help her out of financial difficulties, but he was eventually convicted of kidnapping and extortion and sentenced to 16 years and nine months in jail.

Now, based on detailed research, extensive interviews, documented legal proceedings and Chloe’s own book Kidnapped, a new BBC Three series will tell Chloe’s personal story in full for the first time, going behind the headlines to shine a light on the emotional truth.

What is Kidnapped about?

Written by Georgia Lester, of Killing Eve fame, Kidnapped is a six-part factual drama starring Nadia Parkes as Ayling, following her terrifying kidnap, her bravery and resilience in captivity, and the subsequent court case that put her kidnappers in jail.

The series also asks why Ayling was blamed for her kidnappers’ crimes. How do we relate to survivors of crime who make the front pages? And how does it feel to be an ordinary person, caught up in events so extraordinary that you aren’t believed?

The series stars Nadia Parkes  as Chloe Ayling, Adrian Edmondson (Rain Dogs, A Spy Among Friends), Nigel Lindsay (The Capture, The Salisbury Poisonings), Olive Gray (Halo, Rose), Eleonora Romandini (The White Lotus, Il Nostro Generale), Julian Swiezewski (The Passing Bells, Krucjata) and Christine Tremarco (The Responder, Casualty).

It is being made in full cooperation with Ayling, who says: “I am excited that BBC Studios are telling my story and that the wider world will get to know the truth about what happened to me and learn of the many details that weren’t brought to light originally.”

Watch the trailer below:

As well as appearing on Celebrity Big Brother in 2018, Ayling has also been the subject of true crime podcast Casefile, which details the race against the clock as Italian police attempted to rescue Chloe from a fate worse than death and bring her assailants to justice.    

When will Kidnapped be released?

Filming took place in Italy and the UK at the end of 2023, so it is likely that Kidnapped will be coming to BBC Three and iPlayer later this year. We will keep you updated with any news.

Images: BBC/Getty/Stanley Morgan