The True Story Behind BBC’s Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story

Streaming now on BBC iPlayer and airing tonight on BBC Three, Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story delves into the media storm that surrounded the harrowing abduction of a young British model – and the result of a disbelieving media. Here’s everything to know before you tune in.

Is Kidnapped Based On A True Story?

Yes, the BBC’s new six-part drama Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story is based on harrowing true events. The series transports us back to 2017 when Chloe, a 20-year-old model, travelled to Milan, Italy for a photoshoot, only for it to turn out to be a hoax.

‘In 2017 I was booked for a model shoot in Italy by my agent at the time,’ Chloe tells the BBC. ‘But it turned out it wasn’t a shoot, it was a set-up. As I walked into the studio, two masked men came from behind me in balaclavas, injected me with ketamine and I was immediately knocked out and taken to a remote farmhouse hours away from Milan. I woke up during the transportation in a duffle bag in the boot of a car, gagged and handcuffed, and was held captive for six days. Upon arrival at the farmhouse, I was told I was kidnapped for sex trafficking.’

Her assailant was Łukasz Herba, a Polish national living in the UK, who had developed an obsession with Chloe. Herba contacted Chloe’s manager, Phil Green, demanding a €300,000 ransom, or else he would sell Chloe as a sex slave on the dark web. In captivity, Herba tried to befriend Ayling, retracting the dark web story and claiming he was aiding her career with the added publicity this abduction would give her. One day, the pair ventured out of the house for supplies; Herba kept Chloe close, gripping her hand and telling her they were being watched by a gang. ‘Here I have someone promising to help me to get out and to settle it with the rest of the people in the gang, so if I was to run from him, not only would that turn him against me, it would be the whole gang,’ Chloe tells the BBC. ‘I was brainwashed into relying on him to put an end to it.’

Realising his ransom plot wasn’t getting very far, Herba returned Chloe to the British consulate in Milan, releasing her on the condition that she pay the ransom herself and promise to be his girlfriend back home in the UK. Glad to be free of Herba, Chloe was intensely questioned by police – and this is when she realised the ordeal was far from over. Suspicious of the hand-holding in the Italian countryside, the British press hounded and vilified Chloe, picking apart her story and insisting it was all a publicity stunt. Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story delves into this aftermath, showcasing Chloe’s side of the story. The pair weren’t holding hands: Herba was gripping Chloe in his clutches while the young model trembled with fear, terrified to show any disdain towards Herba lest he kill her for it, feigning affection in order to preserve her life. The BBC drama questions why the British media was so reluctant to believe Chloe, asking why she was blamed for her kidnapper’s crimes, and how it feels to be an ordinary person caught up in such extraordinary events that nobody believes what you are saying.

Francesco Pesce (LORENZO RICHELMY) & Chloe (NADIA PARKES) in Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story. © BBC/River Pictures/Amy Brammall

Why Did Nobody Believe Her?

Chloe Ayling struggled to convince the media of her plight for two main reasons. Firstly, the media scrutinised images capturing Chloe with her kidnapper, claiming the young woman looked too calm and that their holding hands meant Chloe was in on the plot. Secondly, when Chloe returned to the UK, she found herself in a lose-lose situation: when she didn’t speak on her kidnapping, the media interpreted her silence as lying; when she accepted money for interviews, the media claimed the whole plot was a publicity stunt for some quick cash. In the aftermath of being kidnapped, Chloe’s every move was dissected and analysed: she was too calm and composed, not dishevelled enough, smiling too much.

‘I didn’t want anyone to know about the kidnapping,’ Chloe tells the BBC, ‘but it was made public by the Italian authorities and therefore out of my control, so I was trying to make a positive out of a bad situation.

‘I didn’t show my emotions in interviews – since being a child, I have always hated the idea of people seeing me cry,’ Chloe adds. ‘I would always put on a brave face and cover things up with a smile. Even one of my closest childhood friends has only seen me cry twice in 20 years.’

The best example of the media’s disbelief straying into resentment is Piers Morgan’s famous interview with Chloe on Good Morning Britain. ‘If you’re going to conduct media interviews where you’re being paid money, and you’re doing a book for thousands of pounds before there’s even been a trial, I think we’re perfectly entitled to ask you difficult questions,’ the divisive interviewer said, unleashing the trolls on Chloe.

‘I wanted this factual drama to be made because a lot of things were not covered by the media at the time,’ Chloe tells the BBC. ‘Key features and parts of the story were missed out, and the drama shines light on those things. All of the facts are what I wanted people to know and be aware of at the time, so I’m really pleased that the series includes them. It’s also good to see it visually, I’m a very visual person, so to see it on the screen is different from just reading it and you actually get to kind of feel like you’re experiencing it as well.

‘It’s a very complex story so to be able to see things from my perspective at the time and to understand how I was brainwashed by Łukasz Herba is key to fully understanding the story,’ Chloe adds.

MD/Lukasz (JULIAN ŚWIEŻEWSKI) & Chloe (NADIA PARKES) in Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story. © BBC/River Pictures/Sally Mais

What Happened To Chloe Ayling’s Kidnapper?

In June 2018, Chloe Ayling’s kidnapper Łukasz Herba was convicted of kidnapping and sentenced to 16 years and nine months in prison. On appeal in 2020, this was reduced to 12 years and one month. Meanwhile Herba’s brother Michał was also arrested for participating in the kidnapping, with emails and forensic evidence confirming her had helped his brother abduct Chloe. Michał was sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison in 2019, but this was reduced to five years and eight months in 2021.

Where Is Chloe Ayling Now?

Now 27 years old, Chloe Ayling is still a model and public figure, posting content on Instagram (where she boasts 200,000 followers) and OnlyFans. In 2018, she appeared on Celebrity Big Brother, adding fuel to Piers Morgan’s flames, with more trolls calling Chloe a liar and a money-grabber. Recently appearing on BBC Breakfast, Chloe said she is ‘fine in myself. I’m happy, I’ve moved on. I’m happy that the drama is being made because still, seven years on, there’s still criticism.

‘I feel like my voice was never heard back then,’ she added. ‘It was really overpowered by negativity on maybe how I dressed or how I presented myself, or the fact I wasn’t emotional. So I’m glad that it can be just laid out and the facts can be shown visually, so that people can understand such a complex story.’

Chloe (NADIA PARKES) in Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story. © BBC/River Pictures/Sally Mais

Who Stars In Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story?

• Nadia Parkes as Chloe Ayling
• Adrian Edmondson
• Nigel Lindsay
• Olive Gray
• Eleonora Romandini
• Julian Swiezewski
• Christine Tremarco

Is Kidnapped Based On A Book?

Yes, Kidnapped is based on Chloe Ayling’s autobiographical book of the same name, which was published a year after her abduction in 2018. Written by Georgia Lester – who has worked on the likes of Killing Eve and Skins) – the BBC series also draws on detailed research, extensive interviews and documented legal proceedings as well as Chloe’s book to tell the full story in rounded detail, delving behind the headlines to shine a light on the emotional truth.

BUY IT: £8.54, bookshop.org

MD/Lukasz (JULIAN ŚWIEŻEWSKI), Francesco Pesce (LORENZO RICHELMY), Nicolleta (ELEONORA ROMANDINI), Prosecutor Storari (SERGIO ROMANO) & Chloe (NADIA PARKES) in Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story. © BBC/River Pictures/James Stack

Where Is It Streaming?

All six episodes of Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story are available to stream exclusively on BBC iPlayer now. bbc.co.uk

When Is Kidnapped On TV?

Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story will kick off with a double bill on BBC Three from 9pm on Wednesday 14 August 2024.