Caroline Flack

She was the bubbly British TV host linked to Prince Harry and Harry Styles, and in turn relentlessly harassed by the media. Caroline Flack tragically took her life in February, but her name and spirit will live on, writes Helen Gent.

- Helen Gent

As the Robbie Williams classic “Angels” cuts through the hushed studio audience, the couple begin to dance. Barefoot in a white thigh-length dress, the petite brunette reaches for her partner. He pulls her towards him and they move gracefully across the floor; the draping fabric of her dress swirling around their bodies. Suddenly, the man lifts the woman high into the air. With her body taut and perfectly poised, she holds a striking pose until he gently brings her back down, pulling her to his chest in one final tender embrace.

That emotionally charged show dance, performed live at England’s Elstree Studios in December 2014, secured the coveted winner’s trophy for the UK version of Strictly Come Dancing for Caroline Flack and her professional dance partner Pasha Kovalev. Along with rapturous standing ovations from the audience, the couple received a perfect score for all three of their dances that evening – a feat never before achieved in the television show’s 10-year history.

Caroline looked radiant with happiness. But beneath the smiles the TV presenter – who within a year would become a household name as the host of Love Island – was harbouring heartbreak and pain. It wasn’t the first time Caroline had kept her emotional turmoil carefully hidden behind a sunny exterior. And tragically, it wouldn’t be the last.