Red Flag | Preview (W)
Red Flag is W & UKTV Play's gripping, new true crime series which tells the astonishing stories of women who were deceived into loving the men who ripped their lives apart.
Experts Rebecca Mason and broadcaster and psychologist Anjula Mutanda uncover the ‘red flags’ that went missed, unseen or ignored in relationships that quickly descended from the promise of a new love, to lives that were torn apart.
In emotional first-person testimony, each survivor recounts how a new partner, who they often met online, turned their world upside down as they were sucked into the web of deceit, lies and controlling behaviour. In many cases they were lucky to escape alive. These are the stories of women who were simply looking for love, and each one is more jaw dropping than the last.
Among them are Esther who got back together with the boyfriend who nearly killed her and Juliana who was blackmailed by her manipulative boyfriend and discovered he had filmed himself sexually assaulting her in her sleep. The series aims to empower women and men and recognise the ‘red flags’ that can occur in any relationship so they know when to walk away.
In the first episode, nearly Beaten to Death and Still Together: Esther first meets Sam through her school friendship group but soon begins to see another side to Sam. Whenever he behaves aggressively towards her, he blames his alter ego, ‘Bad Sam’.
When Esther plans a reunion with her friends back home in Teeside, Sam goes along too and takes a cocktail of drugs. As the evening progresses, Sam’s jealously turns into rage and after storming off he brutally assaults her. Esther is in hospital for 108 days, much of it in a coma and Sam is sentenced to 12 ½ years in prison for the devastating attack.
From prison, Sam contacts Esther and persuades her to continue their relationship. Esther has no recollection of the attack and goes against her family and friends wishes, visiting Sam regularly in prison. Her family try to intervene but it seems nothing can break the bond between Sam and Esther.
Red Flag begins Wednesday 17th April at 9pm on W.