Britain’s Got Talent star was accused of ‘child sex offences’ days before death | Celebrity News | Showbiz & TV

Kerri-Anne Donaldson was arrested for ‘child sex offending’ three days before her death (Image: Social Media)

Former Britain’s Got Talent contestant Kerri-Anne Donaldson was arrested for ‘child sex offending’ three days before she was found dead at her home, an inquest heard. The ITV star was under investigation following allegations that she committed a sex crime against a child when her body was discovered. On Wednesday (February 18), Detective Chief Superintendent Sarah McCollen told Winchester Crown Court that Ms Donaldson was accused of “child sex offending”, although further details are yet to be disclosed. 

Before her death, police carried out a risk assessment as part of their investigation into the offence she was accused of, and highlighted an “increased risk of self-harm or suicide”. Winchester Coroner’s Court, Hampshire, was told that she was arrested by police and taken into custody at Aldershot police station on June 4, 2023, before being released. Shortly after she was released, she went missing before she was found dead at her home in Farnborough three days later.

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Ms Donaldson shot to fame on the reality TV show after she made it all the way to the semi-finals in 2014 as part of the dance troupe Kings and Queens. Throughout her dance career, she performed alongside Strictly Come Dancing professionals Neil and Katya Jones.

When she first went missing, the dancer was found at a Travelodge, where she had overdosed. She was later taken to the hospital, where her sister, Cara Donaldson, said that she was told Ms Donaldson may need ot be sectioned. On June 6, the TV star was discharged, and Cara took her sister back to her home and left her later that evening after her sister reassured her that she wouldn’t take her own life.

But the next morning, Cara went to her sister’s house and found a note at the top of the staircase which simply read: “Call 999, don’t come in, I’m sorry.” Ms Donaldson was declared dead after emergency services arrived on the scene. 

Consultant psychiatrist Dr Martin Williams was one of the three mental health professionals who carried out an assessment of Ms Donaldson before she was released from St Peter’s Hospital in Surrey. He told the inquest that she had presented as suffering from an “acute adjustment reaction” to her arrest. 

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Kerri-Anne Donaldson (front row second from left) rose to fame on Britain’s Got Talent (Image: Tom Dymond/Thames/REX/Shutterstock)

He went on to reveal that she had been assessed on June 6, where they declared that she had changed her position from the previous evening, when a psychiatric liaison nurse had previously deemed her to be of “high or imminent risk of suicide” and rated her risk level at a 10 out of 10. 

Dr Williams said that his assessment had taken account of this, but added that it was a “dynamic process”, adding: “I was able to form a snapshot of the risk she was posing at that point, she expressed clearly that she didn’t have plans to carry out acts that could lead to her death

“It struck me how warm and personable Kerri-Anne was, it struck me she was open, she was receptive, she was showing emotions appropriate to what she was facing.” He added: “We considered the possibility she was making a higher level of risk than she was saying, but all the indications were that she was settling and the risk was markedly reduced from the previous day.” 

Another noticeable change he noticed about the pro-dancer was her attitude towards her upcoming legal fight, explaining that she had refused to disclose the nature of the offence she was accused of, but told him that she no longer believed she was “definitely going to prison”. 

He recalled: “She had shifted from a position of quite stressed and downbeat about the police involvement to where she felt much more confident.” Dr Williams added that Ms Donaldson had said that she “wanted to take her own legal advice and wanted to fight the case.”

When the Detective Chief Superintendent stepped up to the stand, she said that the officer who carried out an enhanced risk assessment of Ms Donaldson whilst she was in hospital had acted “appropriately” by not revealing to medical staff the nature of the offence she had been arrested for. 

She said that the form was used by officers to assess the mental health of suspects of certain offences, including what she described for Ms Donaldson’s case as “child sex offending”. The officer added that Ms Donaldson had not wished to disclose the nature of the offence for which she had been arrested to the medical staff. 

Detective Constable Benjamin Harris, of Hampshire Constabulary, who led the investigation into the accusation against Ms Donaldson, told the court that the complainant was interviewed on video about the allegation. 

When asked by the coroner, Jason Pegg, Det Con Harris confirmed that the complainant had said that Ms Donaldson told them she would take her own life “if someone finds out” about the allegation. The detective said he had considered the possibility that Ms Donaldson’s reported comments could be a “form of control” against the complainant. The four-day inquest continues.