THE glamour model accused of faking her own kidnap for publicity hopes that a new drama about her ordeal will finally set the record straight.
Chloe Ayling — who some claimed was involved in the plot to boost her profile – has worked on the telly production to make sure the truth is told.
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In July 2017, the then 20-year-old from South London was snatched from a location in Milan by two men in balaclavas.
She was drugged and shoved into a duffle bag in the back of a car before being held for six days at a remote farmhouse.
Her captor, Polish-born Lukasz Herba, said that unless her family paid a £230,000 ransom, she would be sold as a sex slave then fed to tigers when the gang he worked for — who he said were called Black Death — had tired of her.
By staying calm and promising herself to Herba if he let her go, wily Chloe, 27, managed to escape and return home to her mother and son.
Yet it was here that her troubles continued.
Although Lucasz and his accomplice brother Michal were quickly arrested and charged, their lawyers claimed the kidnap was a joint ruse with Chloe to raise her public profile.
And much of the UK media and public believed them.
Now, BBC drama Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story shows for the first time what really happened.
Nadia Parkes, 28, plays Chloe, following the story from the moment she flew to Italy thinking she had been booked for a modelling job, through to her safe return and the media frenzy that ensued.
Chloe, who was a consultant on the show, said: “Seeing it gave me chills because it’s such a relief. People will see all the evidence laid out word for word, without bias.
“I hope that this changes people’s views and now makes them see the story from my perspective.
“My kidnapper released me without the ransom being met because I was instinctively able to use emotions and sex appeal to get out.
“That seemed unbelievable to people.
“It’s important for me that people can now see all of those key details based on years of extensive research — and not a warped version of the truth.”
Sceptics who doubted the authenticity of Chloe’s story questioned if she was really a victim after she smiled while chatting to reporters from her mum’s garden about her safe return, wearing a tight vest top and skimpy shorts.
The drama recreates that scene.
‘Survival mode’
People also remarked on her being spotted publicly holding hands with Herba — who pals said she first met at a Paris photoshoot months earlier — while shopping for shoes during her time in captivity.
Chloe, a contestant on 2018’s Celebrity Big Brother, insists she played along to convince Herba to free her.
She says now: “Hardly anyone knows that I had to stay in Italy for a pre-trial after being released by the kidnappers, which meant the interview outside my house was done weeks after my release.
“I didn’t show my emotions in interviews. Since being a child, I have always hated the idea of people seeing me cry. I would always put on a brave face and cover things up with a smile.
“I saw signs that my kidnapper had a crush on me, so I had to use that to my advantage because I knew it would increase my chances of being released unharmed.
“It was me going into survival mode. That was my instinct in the situation. I couldn’t tell him I wasn’t interested. I was in danger, I was just trying to survive.
“While nothing happened physically between us, I used his vulnerability and convinced him that it could and that we could be a couple if he released me.
“Instead of being praised for being smart, tactical and brave in doing this to survive, the media and public chose not to believe me and used this to say how holding hands with the kidnapper and not trying to escape was weird.
“Instead of sympathising with a victim, they created more hurt — so I hope they can learn something from watching the series.”
A year after her release, Lucasz Herba, a Polish national living in the UK, was sentenced in a Milan court to 16 years and nine months, later reduced on appeal to 12 years and one month.
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His brother Michal got 16 years, cut to five years and eight months.
It emerged there was no Black Death sex gang. The brothers were acting alone, seemingly as Lucasz wanted a relationship with Chloe.
Writer Georgia Lester’s script is based on in-depth research, interviews, documented legal proceedings and Chloe’s own book, Kidnapped.
The six-part drama features a gripping performance by Nadia, who has previously appeared in Netflix drama The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself.
Unless there’s concrete evidence like CCTV, victims are not believed. The only way you can prove people wrong is to be found dead
Chloe Ayling
The actress met Chloe several times and went to incredible lengths to capture her voice and look, dyeing her hair, working with a dialect coach, wearing costumes that changed her body shape and even using Chloe’s perfume while filming.
Nadia said: “There were a lot of public appearances and interviews available to me.
“So I had direct references to how Chloe looks and how she holds herself and how her voice sounds in the moment.
“But it was when I met her that I could really transform into her because I could pick up on her energy. I gave her a big hug.
‘Conspiracy theories’
“It was quite eerie at times, shooting in Italy, because we shot in similar locations to where some of the events happened.
“The farmhouse scenes were difficult to film. I couldn’t stop thinking about Chloe going through it alone and in real life.”
Chloe and Nadia hope that audiences not only get to hear the model’s story in full for the first time, but they also think twice about rushing to judge victims of crime.
Chloe refers to the recent disappearance of tragic Jay Slater, 19, in Tenerife, which sparked wild conspiracy theories about what had happened to him, only adding to his family’s distress.
“Unless there’s concrete evidence like CCTV, victims are not believed,” she said.
Nadia added of the TV drama about Chloe: “It’s about how lots of people perceive women in the media.
“We look into a lot of the hate that she was receiving and the downside of the world of social media.
“People can hide behind these screens, sending hateful comments and messages to people and they fail to remember that there’s a human sitting behind that.”
People can hide behind these screens, sending hateful comments and messages to people and they fail to remember that there’s a human sitting behind that
Nadia Parkes
Chloe has now moved to the Welsh countryside with her eight-year-old son and still models, mainly online and on OnlyFans.
She also spends half the year at her house in Florida.
Meanwhile, Michal Herba was recently released from prison for good behaviour and is living with his mother in Poland.
Chloe has heard that Lucasz may also be freed soon.
As convicted criminals, neither can return to the UK.
Seven years on from her traumatic ordeal, Chloe remains hopeful the BBC’s drama will allow her to move away from the trolling, and that people may think twice before accusing other victims, in a similar position, of being dishonest.
She says of the TV series: “I hope it encourages people not to doubt victims based on the way they react to a traumatic experience, on the way they dress, their job or what they did to survive.
“I hope it encourages people to look deeper than headlines, not to judge a situation or story based on what you read, and to keep an open mind before jumping to conclusions.”
- All episodes of Kidnapped are on BBC iPlayer from 6am on Wednesday, with episodes airing on BBC3 from 9pm that night.
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