★★★★ ‘Superb’ Telegraph | ★★★★ ‘Deeply Moving’ Daily Mail | ★★★★ ‘Fascinating’ The i | ★★★★★ ‘Excellent’ The Times
On the morning of 27 January 2023, Nicola Bulley is walking her dog along the River Wyre in the quiet Lancashire village of St Michael’s on Wyre, when she disappears without a trace.
The question of what has happened to her transfixes the nation. The 45-year-old mortgage adviser and mum of two seemed to have no reason to disappear, so where has she gone? To add to the mystery, her dog is running loose, and her phone is still on a Teams call.
The police suspect she has fallen in the river. But many fear she has been abducted. Over the next three weeks, the search for Nicola snowballs into an unprecedented global news and social media storm. Her disappearance leads to sensational headlines, conspiracies swirling online, the police revealing Nicola’s intimate personal information, and TikTok sleuths descending on the village to carry out their own amateur ‘investigations’.
Nicola’s family are swept up in an unprecedented level of scrutiny while going through the most traumatic time of their lives. The frenzy of online speculation and media attention continues to escalate, even after Nicola’s body is tragically found in the river about a mile from where she disappeared.
With exclusive access to Nicola’s family and those at the heart of the case, including Lancashire Police, journalists, the person who found her and social media creators, this documentary charts how it all unfolded, examining the impact the events have had on Nicola’s family and raising questions about how the case was handled by the police, media and social media.
Clare Sillery, Head of Commissioning, Documentaries, says: “The disappearance of Nicola Bulley dominated the headlines in early 2023 and sparked weeks of false speculation on social media. This new film asks important and timely questions about why this story resonated with the public to such an extent and what impact that had on those closest to the case, hearing directly from those in the eye of the storm. My thanks to Rogan Productions and to all the contributors – most importantly the family – for sharing their story with us.”
Soleta Rogan, Managing Director, Rogan Productions says: “Nicola Bulley’s disappearance was a tragedy that has remained in the minds of many. What ensued demonstrated the power of the mainstream and social media and how they impacted the case and everyone involved. We’d like to thank the family for trusting us with their story and allowing viewers to see who Nicola was behind the headlines.”
The family of Nicola Bulley said: “Collectively we thought long and hard about taking part in a documentary about Nikki. It wasn’t an easy decision. Many people have aired their views about her disappearance and her untimely and tragic death, only we can speak about her as a mummy, partner, daughter, and sister. We hope that our contribution will give people some understanding of what it is really like to be in the eye of a media storm.”
Read the family’s statement in full here.
The Search for Nicola Bulley 1×60 was commissioned by Clare Sillery, Head of Commissioning, Documentaries. It is produced by BAFTA-winning Rogan Productions, directed by former BBC New Documentary Directors’ Initiative alumnus Rachel Lob-Levyt (Louis Theroux Interviews, Hospital) and executive produced by James Rogan and Soleta Rogan, with producer Xinlan Rose (The Clinic, Russell Brand: In Plain Sight). Brett Irwin (Uprising, The Kings) is the Editor and Emma Loach is Commissioning Editor for the BBC.
Please note that Nicola’s family will not be available for any media interviews.
Articles about the film
Pity the families devastated by having a loved one go missing, who are then traumatised by the press by Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff
I’ve studied this and know the ordeal suffered by Nicola Bulley’s relatives is common. Lurid headlines, speculation – none of it helps read more
Online obsession with Nicola Bulley became a ‘monster’, family tells BBC
by Nick Garnett
Nicola Bulley’s partner has described the social media fixation and online obsession with her disappearance as a “monster” that got out of control. read more
