A landmark BBC documentary that aims to finally put to bed the rampant raft of conspiracy theories surrounding the disappearance of Nicola Bulley is set to air on the BBC tonight.
The Search for Nicola Bulley explores the inside story of how the 45-year-old disappeared in January 2023 - sparking an online frenzy by amateur social media sleuths desperate to uncover what they saw as the truth.
Unthinking TikTokers filmed themselves rampaging through police search areas and shared unproven and hurtful theories about Ms Bulley and her loved ones to thousands of viewers that at times threatened to disrupt the official investigation.
Ultimately, Ms Bulleys body was found three weeks after she disappeared in the River Wyre in Lancashire having accidentally fallen into the water.
But the damage to the mortgage advisers family had already been done by armchair detectives, who were removed from the tragedy by watching it unfold through their phone screens.
Paul Ansell, pictured in the BBCs new documentary, has shed light on how social media became a monster for him and his family
The mysterious disappearance of Nicola Bulley gripped the nation for months in 2023, as both speculation and scrutiny surrounded the case of the missing mother
Paul Ansell was sent a series of abusive messages from online trolls, above, who assumed he had something to do with Nicola Bulleys disappearance
Ms Bulleys family said they agreed to take part - despite knowing it would be difficult - in order to give her the legacy she deserves, untainted by the stains of social media speculation.
Collectively, we thought long and hard about taking part in a documentary about Nikki. It wasnt an easy decision, her loved ones said earlier this year.
Nikkis face and name quickly became very recognisable, but there is so much to share about Nikki the person.
Our sole aim is to provide the definitive record on Nikki to ensure she has the legacy that she deserves.
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.
In addition, if our experience of being in the eye of a media storm makes people think twice about how they act and what they say online, then we will have achieved some further good.
Ms Bulley disappeared on the morning of January 27 after dropping her two daughters, aged six and nine, at school.
She then took the family dog for a walk in St Michaels on Wyre by the River Wyre in Lancashire and was on a work Microsoft Teams call when she vanished, having just texted a friend to arrange a playdate.
Her phone, still connected to the Teams call, and the dog lead were both found at a bench beside the river, as was the dog.
It would be more than three weeks before her body was found a mile downstream from St Michaels on Wyre - the tragedy compounded by a path of devastation wreaked online.
Social media sponges, drawn to the case of the fact that an ordinary, nice-looking mother of two had seemingly upped and gone, vanished into thin air, for no reason.
Suspicion was immediately cast on her partner Paul Ansell, who was cruelly demonised by wannabe sleuths who appeared to suggest he might have had something to do with her disappearance.
Paul Ansell agreed to take part in the documentary to tackle entitled social media sleuths, its director has suggested
Ms Bulleys sister, Louise Cunningham, is among the members of Ms Bulleys family who agreed to take part to give her the legacy she deserves
Ring doorbell footage shows Ms Bulley, her partner Paul and their children outside their home on the morning of her disappearance
Police at the bench where Nicola Bulleys phone and dog lead were found shortly after she disappeared
A boat operated by Specialist Group International searches a stretch of the River Wyre in the search for Nicola Bulley
The documentary features contributions from Mr Ansell and other members of Ms Bulleys family who hope to put to bed once and for all the monstrous online mob who made the case into lurid, frenzied content to digest on social media.
Mr Ansell, speaking for the first time since Nicolas body was found on February 19 2023, told the BBC last week that he had initially mistaken the extreme interest in the case from strangers as a positive phenomenon that could lead to answers.
But within days it had become clear that the disappearance was being mined by amateur detectives to fuel their social media presences.
Mr Ansell says in the documentary: Social media... Nikki used it more than I did. It wasnt a huge part of our lives but when you experience something like this you realise what a huge monster it can be, I guess.
I was getting direct messages from people that Ive never met. They dont know me, they dont know us, they dont know Nikki, they know nothing about us.
Just messages like "you b******", "we know what you did", "you cant hide Paul", that kind of stuff. You cant do anything about it... Youre poking a monster.
Louise Cunningham, Ms Bulleys sister, tearfully adds: As far as Nikki going missing and the "mystery" to it: it was just an accident. It doesnt always have to be something sinister.
Sometimes bad things just happen. I just wish it hadnt happened to us.
Rachel Lob-Levyt, the director behind the documentary, said it was nerve-racking to put the partner of the Lancashire mother back into public focus, but she felt it was the right thing to do.
Ms Bulley had dropped her two daughters, aged six and nine, at school before setting off to walk the family dog by the river, when she suddenly vanished
The search attracted global interest and at times overwhelmed detectives who were sent mountains of misleading and false information (pictured: a poster appealing for information)
Lancashire Police criticised those who shared misinformation about the case on social media (pictured: ACC Peter Lawson and DCS Pauline Stables announcing the discovery of Nicolas body in February)
The police had to issue a series of rebuttals to conspiracy theorists claims about the case
She added: The social media sleuths felt entitled to say whatever they wanted.
In the past wed 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.
Friends of the couple had begged social media sleuths to leave them alone - but as salacious gossip was spread online it began to have a real-world impact.
The videos were numerous, and twisted: from TikTokers who filmed themselves searching a house near the River Wyre that had been wrongly described as abandoned to those who shared theories about who they thought was responsible for Nicolas vanishing.
Some users claiming to be clairvoyants even filmed themselves saying they could see where she had gone.
It had a real-world impact on the investigation: Lancashire Constabulary, which led the investigation, received 75,000 social media comments over the course of a month, overwhelming the force as it tried to pick out useful information.
An independent College of Policing review of the investigation into her disappearance found the relationship between police and the media to be fractured, and urged for it to be rebuilt.
It also criticised the disclosure of personal information about Ms Bulleys health struggles as avoidable and unnecessary.
The ghoulish behavior of social media detectives continued even after detectives found Ms Bulleys body in the water a short distance from where she was last seen.
Wannabe sleuth Curtis Arnold duped police into letting him walk down the road where Nicolas body was being retrieved from the River Wyre so he could film it and post the sick footage online.
The Bulley family solicitor Terry Wilcox (centre) and DCS Pauline Stables (L) read a statement after the coroners verdict that she died of accidental drowning
Nicola Bulley with her partner of 12 years Paul Ansell. Ms Bulley disappeared on January 27 last year near the River Wyre, in the Lancashire village of St Michaels on Wyre
In the end his eight-minute video was viewed 59,000 times – earning Arnold almost £1,000 in royalties –before he was forced to delete it.
My ambition is to be a full-time YouTuber and make a good living from it, he recently told the Mail.
He was arrested, but never charged, and now makes videos under the name Daniel J Edwards, professing to be a citizen journalist who spends his time filming confrontations with members of the public and security staff at migrant hotels.
A coroners inquest ultimately ruled that Ms Bulley died after accidentally falling into the river. The cause of death was given as drowning.
Hopes that the documentary will put the case to bed might be premature.
If anything, it may only feed the endless true crime content machine that dined out on the case, and others like it, in the first place.
The disappearance of Jay Slater on Tenerife during the summer only served to fuel conspiracy theories about where he went, devastating his grief-stricken parents as they waited for answers.
Similarly, his disappearance had a tragic outcome as it emerged he had fallen down a steep ravine as he tried to navigate his way home after a night out.
It wont be long until the true crime brigade find another case to disseminate - if they even need a fresh one to start with.
The #nicolabulley hashtag on TikTok has more than 500million views - almost doubled from the peak of the investigation.
One TikToker discussing the Nicola Bulley programme said in a video last week: I dont necessarily think her family had anything to do with what happened, but I do think there are so many unanswered questions left in that case.
- The Search for Nicola Bulley airs on BBC One on October 3 at 9pm, and is available to watch on iPlayer now.