The director of a new documentary about the disappearance and death of Nicola Bulley has explained why a controversial aspect of the case was included in the feature.
BBC's The Search For Nicola Bulley delves into the media coverage and the influence of amateur internet detectives conducting their own probes online last year, while also featuring insights from Lancashire Police and Nicola's family.
Lancashire mother Nicola disappeared on 27th January 2023 during a dog walk in St Michael's on Wyre, after dropping her two young daughters off at school earlier in the morning. Her body was eventually found in a river on 19th February with an inquest the following June ruling her death as an accidental drowning.
Nicola's partner opens up about the horrific online abuse he received following her disappearance and shared what the late mum-of-two would think of the reaction to her death in the upcoming BBC programme. Paul Ansell, speaking publicly for the first time since his partner Nicola's body was found, recalls how social media became "a huge monster" during the search for her.
"Awful things started to be said," Paul remembers in a clip from the documentary shown ahead of its release next week. "I was getting direct messages from people I've never met and you can't do anything about it. On top of the trauma of the nightmare that we're in, to then think that all these horrendous things are being said about me towards Nikki - everyone has a limit."
Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Friday morning, Rachel Lob-levyt, the director of The Search for Nicola Bulley, explained why she included the social media fascination with the case in her feature. As host Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt questioned the online sleuths being mentioned, Rachel stated: "Whether we like it or not, it was a huge part of this case."
"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," Rachel revealed in an interview with the Radio Times prior to her appearance on BBC Breakfast today. "At the time she went missing, Paul was subject to a really difficult level of scrutiny.
"The idea of putting himself back in the public eye is nerve-racking but ultimately, he thought it the right thing to do. The social media sleuths felt entitled to say whatever they wanted. 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."
In The Search For Nicola Bulley, Paul describes the morning of her disappearance as a "normal" Friday morning. Nicola had left home around 08:30am to drop their two children at school, taking their dog Willow along. Paul admitted he wasn't overly worried when she didn't return home at the usual time, but panic set in when the children's school called to say someone had found Willow and Nicola's phone by a bench.
He recounts to the documentary makers: "I mean, that's not a normal phone call to get. She would never have left Willow." In that instant, he realised "something isn't right here" and described feeling similar to a panic attack. He continues: "It's where you feel like your legs have gone. In a situation like that, your mind is going absolutely crazy. And so I rang the police as I was driving."
The family opened up about the torment social media caused during Nicola's disappearance. Paul expressed how he had to ditch his social media presence after internet detectives vilified him as the culprit. He told the documentary: "I was getting direct messages from people that I've never met. They don't know me, they don't know us, they don't know Nikki.
"They know nothing about us. Just messages like 'you b******'. 'We know what you did'. 'You know you can't hide Paul', that kind of stuff. "There was some that I felt like replying to, but then if you reply to that, they'll just screenshot your reply, if that'll end up on social media. And so you're literally silenced, and you can't do anything about it.
A coroner ruled last year that Nicola's death was accidental, stating she had fallen into the river and experienced "cold water shock", with "no evidence" pointing towards suicide.
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