My private trauma was leaked to the press – so I fought back

Dec 1, 2025

Jenny Evans, an actor-turned-investigative journalist and lawyer, shares her harrowing journey after her sexual assault details were leaked to the press. She discusses the trauma of the assault and the betrayal of seeing her police testimony splashed in tabloids. Realizing the pervasive corruption in the police and media, Jenny retrained as a journalist, teaming up with Nick Davies to expose phone-hacking and unethical practices. Her fight for accountability ultimately led to a life-changing civil settlement and inspired her to support other victims through law.

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ANECDOTE

Assault After A Film Party

Jenny Evans describes being separated from friends at a film party and sexually assaulted by a famous man and his friend.
She escaped, was taken home by a cab driver, and initially stayed silent from shock and fear.

ANECDOTE

Newspaper Sparked Reporting Decision

Jenny found a newspaper headline showing the famous man had been accused and realised she might not be alone.
That revelation pushed her to report the assault to the police two days later after sleepless nights.

ANECDOTE

Police Interview Leaked To Tabloid

Four days after a police interview, a tabloid printed detailed, confidential parts of Jenny's account.
She phoned her lead detective who promised to follow up but never did, deepening her fear and confusion.

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When Jenny Evans was sexually assaulted and confidential details appeared in a national newspaper, she decided to investigate – uncovering police corruption, tabloid spying, and phone-hacking.

Jenny got a role in her first feature film when she was just 19 years old. At a film party in London she became separated from her friends and was sexually assaulted by a public figure she'd just met. At first she was too traumatised to report what had happened. But later, when other women came forward with similar stories about the same man, she finally felt able to go to the police. She provided a full testimony, but was shocked to see details from her police interview appear in a tabloid newspaper just a few days later. Jenny could not understand how this had happened, and the repeated tabloid stories about her led to a building sense of paranoia – she no longer knew who to trust. She eventually refused to talk to the police, the case against her attacker collapsed, and he was never prosecuted.

Jenny decided to train as a journalist to discover what had really taken place between the police and the press. She teamed up with the well-known investigative journalist Nick Davies, and helped to uncover corruption in London's Metropolitan Police Service and illegal newsgathering practices by some national newspapers including phone-hacking and spying. Their investigations contributed to some high-profile resignations, and the closure of one of the newspapers at the heart of the phone-hacking scandal. Jenny eventually received an apology and substantial payout from the Metropolitan Police.

This interview contains a description of sexual assault at the outset.

Presenter: Asya Fouks Producer: Rebecca Vincent and Elena Angelides

Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. Each episode a guest shares their most dramatic, moving, personal story. Listen for unbelievable twists, mysteries uncovered, and inspiring journeys - spanning the entire human experience. Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected. Got a story to tell? Send an email to liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or message us via WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784 You can read our privacy notice here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5YD3hBqmw26B8WMHt6GkQxG/lives-less-ordinary-privacy-notice