Kathryn Knight

As she walked to school on a bone-chilling January morning in 1993, the then 13-year-old Vickie Robertson saw something that stopped her in her tracks.

Immaculately made up, sporting giant designer sunglasses and carrying a Louis ­Vuitton handbag, Tareena Shakil looks every inch the social media influencer she aspires to be.

The accusation rang out across the courtroom. Jaz Ampaw-Farr, then just 16, was giving evidence against the stepfather who had sexually abused her throughout her childhood and sold her to strangers.

When Carl and Clare Bolton met with the senior medical team at the Countess of Chester Hospital seven years ago, they were looking for reassurance.

For while 53-year-old Jean Hanlon's body was recovered from Heraklion harbour in March 2009 with head injuries and other signs of trauma, police ruled her death was a tragic accident.

For while 53-year-old Jean Hanlon's body was recovered from Heraklion harbour in March 2009 with head injuries and other signs of trauma, police ruled her death was a tragic accident.

Captain Tom passed away in February 2021, having completed his heroic feat. Yet the narrative arc that followed came to embody hubris and humiliation of the highest order.

'None of it was real,' Zoe says. 'People like Ben foster a relationship to get their needs met. They masquerade as functioning, funny, kind, loving people. But behind it all is a monster.'

It could scarcely have been a more exclusive occasion. The royal enclosure at the Royal Windsor Horse Show, and a couple of flamboyantly dressed ladies were talking to the Queen.

The writer and broadcaster on childhood adventures, Winnie-the-Pooh and the lesson that has guided him throughout his life.