Model and kidnapping victim Chloe Ayling's name is back in the headlines as a BBC TV series tells the story of her traumatic experience, with actor Nadia Parkes playing the lead role.
In 2017, Chloe was kidnapped, drugged and held captive in the Italian countryside after travelling to Milan for a shoot. When she was released six days later, she made efforts not to implicate the man who kidnapped her because he'd told her it was a wider sex trafficking organisation she should fear, not him – one who could harm her and her family.
This was not the case. Chloe just didn't know this at the time.
Model Chloe Ayling was kidnapped in Italy back in 2017, but was vilified for accusing her attacker.
Her initial efforts to protect this man – who was, in fact, her abuser – led to police questioning the integrity of her story, as well as venomous media headlines accusing her of telling her story for money, publicity and attention.
The series highlights a range of issues when it comes to how society views violence against women, the impact of victims not being believed, and the dismissive nature towards certain types of “victims”. It even opens with the portrayal of an explosive Piers Morgan interview with Chloe, expertly highlighting the bullying she faced when trying to tell her story, as well as the toxicity of tabloid headlines and social media in these situations.
Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story was written by Killing Eve writer Georgia Lester, with Chloe's full support for its recounting of her ordeal and the injustice and prejudice that followed.
For Nadia, getting to know Chloe – right down to what her favourite biscuit is – really helped her to prepare for the role. “Chloe's bravery and resilience was a really important thing for me to get across,” she said, adding that it was important to portray Chloe's determination to not let her abuse define her.
Nadia sat down with GLAMOUR to break down the role and the true story it was inspired from, including the huge significance of Chloe's job as a glamour model in her not being believed and the impact she hopes the series has in giving women the space to speak out against abuse.
What made you want to play Chloe?
Back when I was reading the script I had a vague memory of when [Chloe's kidnapping] played out at the time, but I became so excited about the idea of bringing the emotional truth behind all the headlines out. I really, really felt a lot of empathy for Chloe.
Kidnapped opens on a brutal Piers Morgan interview that Chloe went through – which happened in real life, of course – what was that like to film?
I remember seeing the Piers Morgan interview in real time, but not really forming or shaping an opinion on it at the time. So it was really interesting to come to it with all the information and the facts. I was really excited to do Chloe's story justice and be part of the storytelling around a lot of the accusations she received in 2017 – and uncovering the truth of those actions.
That interview was really the big turning point when Chloe felt the backlash and the accusations in the strongest way. It felt really important. We struggle to remember that that's a real person, and that's their real life, and they really did go through that. I watched that interview more times than I can tell you, I could probably recite it right now. It was actually one of my audition scenes – it was really important for me that I played it really authentically and made sure I got all the right pauses, moments, beats.
The events surrounding Chloe's kidnapping occurred back in 2017, pre-#MeToo. Why is it so significant that we're revisiting this story now?
So much progress has been made in terms of bringing light to these stories but I think there's still so much work to be done in allowing women the space to be able to speak up and speak out, to be believed and not questioned and judged. And [the series] really does look at how we treat women in the media. So I think it's a timely story. It's never not the right time to tell a story that helps people question themselves, and often how quick people can be to judge.
A huge turning point in the story is when Chloe goes shopping with her kidnapper, something that is then used against her when she reports him. What were your thoughts on spotlighting the complexity of this on screen?
I think people could move a lot more towards understanding full stories and facts before they judge based on what they're seeing in the media. She was terrified, she thought that there was a crime organisation after her who were going to kill her and her family. I don't know about you, but I definitely, as a woman, would have gone along with it and adhered to whatever this man told me because I wanted to keep living.
The series really highlights the complexity of the relationship between victim and abuser, and the fact that it's not as black and white as society may want us to believe…
Chloe's actions and her behaviours might be one of the reasons that she's here today to tell her story. And if she's here and she's surviving and she's healthy and she's still living her life, then who are we to judge how she conducted herself in that situation?
How aligned is the series with true events?
It's all based on facts – police videos, police reports, conversations with Chloe, other evidence. Our job was really just to show the emotional truth behind that.
How did you go about preparing to play Chloe? Did you meet her, and did you have access to psychologists or police resources related to her case?
I watched every single TV appearance Chloe made, and I also watched some police videos that I was given access to, including one where she went back to the farmhouse where she was held captive, and that was really informative. We then recreated that video in the series.
As an actor, you try and gain mannerisms, the voice and the character – but it wasn't until I actually met Chloe that I felt like the character came together. It was being able to talk to her in person that allowed me to fully understand her a bit more.
What did you guys talk about?
We spoke about lots of different things – we did speak about what happened to her in 2017 and we about the media. But we also had conversations about her favourite music, her favourite biscuit, where she likes to do her shopping. And all of those things added just as much to the performance as finding out what happened to her at the time.
What's so great about Chloe is that she doesn't want to be defined absolutely by what happened to her. So being able to talk to her about things outside of that was so great. And it really allowed me to jump into the character with nothing held back.
The series also draws on how Chloe's job as a glamour model made some people question her story, as well as how she reacted to her trauma – what do you hope it does for conversations around victimhood and believing women in particular?
I think because Chloe was a glamour model she received a lot of the accusations she got, and people didn't believe her. She has highlighted that herself. There are definitely certain prejudices we have in society about these jobs. Many of us could have been so much more accepting, not judging based on an outer exterior or prejudice. I think we could be better educated in the effects of trauma and how it sits completely differently for every single person. Everyone copes in different ways.
What impact do you hope the series has, ultimately?
I hope that it adds a lot more room for women to be able to to tell their story and be believed and not feel any form of shame that they might have done something wrong. I also think the tabloids hold a lot of weight in how we perceive women in the media and a lot could be done to tell these stories from a more supportive place.
Was it empowering to play Chloe and tell her story?
Massively. It was completely empowering to tell the story of someone whose power was completely taken away from them. So by telling this story and playing Chloe, there was a small part of me that felt like I was helping to hand some of the power back.
Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story is available to watch on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer.
Model Chloe Ayling was kidnapped in Italy back in 2017, but was vilified for accusing her attacker.
