Nicola Bulley's family to 'tell their own story' in new documentary

24 September 2024, 12:04

Nicola Bulley's family are set to “tell their own story” in a new documentary about the late mother of two.

Bulley’s body was found in the River Wyre on February 19, 2023 - around a mile from where she vanished while out walking her dog.

An inquest later found she had died from accidental drowning.

The new doc, titled The Search For Nicola Bulley, will focus on the media coverage of her disappearance and the impact "amateur internet sleuths" had on both her family and the investigation.

The film’s director, Rachel Lob-levyt told the Radio Times that the documentary allows the "family to tell their story in their own words, unfiltered".

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"We had a viewing with the family. It was difficult - obviously emotional for them. They feel the documentary really honours their experience, and honours Nikki.

"At the time she went missing, Paul was subject to a really difficult level of scrutiny,” she said.

"The idea of putting himself back in the public eye is nerve-racking but ultimately, he thought it the right thing to do.

"In the past we'd have talked about these things in the pub, whereas now people broadcast it online and everything is accelerated.

“Opinion takes on similar weight to verified information," she added.

In the wake of her death, police were criticised for failing to contain frenzied social media speculation about her disappearance.

A review into Lancashire Police also found that disclosure of personal information about Ms Bulley's health struggles was "avoidable and unnecessary".

The force came under fire for the way it made public details of Ms Bulley's medical situation amid a social media frenzy in early 2023.

The review found that in policing terms the missing persons investigation was well handled, but that the force had lost control of the public narrative at an early stage.

Senior officers were accused of "insufficient focus" and errors of judgment, with the report questioning the culture of the force.

They "observed but did not act" and failed to show sufficient support to lower ranks, the report claimed.

A huge level of interest coupled with wild speculation on social media put the force under intense pressure during the investigation into Ms Bulley's disappearance.

The frenzy of speculation saw 6,500 international articles written about the hunt in the space of one day, and TikTok videos with the hashtag of her name had 270 million views.

Lancashire Police press office logged more than 500 media calls and 75,000 inbound social media comments on the case in about one month.

As levels of public confidence in the force were falling, the case should have been declared a critical incident, the review said, with greater focus on the media and earlier use of family liaison officers.

The Search For Nicola Bulley airs October 3 on BBC One and iPlayer.