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The Untold

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The Untold: Her Word Against His

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05/06/2017

Her Word Against His

BBC Radio 4 - The Untold, Her Word Against His

A woman must decide if she can or should testify against the entertainer Rolf Harris.

A woman soul-searches whether she can and should go to court to testify against the entertainer Rolf Harris. Grace Dent presents another untold story from 21st century Britain.

A local radio journalist is celebrating her silver wedding anniversary when she picks up her microphone and starts to record. The police have decided they have enough evidence to take the entertainer Rolf Harris to court and they want her to testify. Can she do it, should she do it, would she be believed?

As a child, Karen Gardner was a huge Rolf Harris fan. And at 16, she volunteers to help look after him during the recording of an ITV show, Star Games. It is then that she says he assaulted her. 

But if this goes to trial how will she prove it? Assault cases are often very difficult to prove and hang on one person's word against another. Although Karen has experience with the court process, she is totally unprepared for the year ahead. Friends don't want to talk about it, it is difficult at work, and then family say they don't believe her. 

This is not a re-examination of the evidence, but one woman's story as she heads towards the court. The programme culminates in the trial of May 2017 when Rolf Harris is cleared of all the four sex assault charges.

Narrated by Grace Dent and produced by Sarah Bowen.

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