Can I Tell You A Secret is a new Netflix documentary telling the story of the UK's most prolific cyber stalker.
The programme features three of stalker Matthew Hardy's victims telling their own stories about the horrifying abuse they received online.
And the documentary also takes a look at just why it took so long to find out who was tormenting these women, and bring him to justice.
Using the real messages the victims received, the programme highlights the emotional torment the women suffered, and features shocking interviews explaining how he took over their lives.
Here's everything you need to know about Can I Tell You A Secret.
Is Can I Tell You A Secret based on a true story?
The documentary is based on the real-life story of Matthew Hardy and his victims. It features interviews with three women who were victims of his online harassment.
Zoe, a model from Lincolnshire, paralegal Lia, and fire-breather and singer Abby, all appear in the documentary to tell their stories.
What did Matthew Hardy do?
The cyberstalking began for each of the women with a message, which seemed to be from a woman. From there it escalated, with hundreds of messages arriving from many accounts.
Over more than ten years, Hardy harassed his victims, creating hundreds of fake accounts, spreading rumours and sharing photos.
The title of the show - Can I Tell You A Secret - is taken from the way Hardy would begin his messages.
How did Matthew Hardy's stalking escalate?
In the documentary, Zoe explains how the stalker sent messages supposedly from her, to friends and family.
She tells how she was terrified because the stalker seemed to know her movements and even which classes she went to at the gym - leaving her convinced that it was someone she knew, and making her suspect her friends.
And later, the stalker even got hold of her phone number and began calling her - never speaking, just heavy breathing.
Abby also tells a shocking story in the documentary about discovering the stalker was posing as her and sending nude pics from a private photo shoot to various male friends and colleagues.
He'd got copies of the photos, thanks to posing as Abby and contacting the photographer - leaving the young woman horrified.
"It felt gross and sick," she says in the show.
And not knowing who was targeting her, or why, or if she was the only victim, left Abby feeling helpless and even suspecting her boyfriend and best friend of being behind the harassment.
How did the women react?
In the documentary, another victim, Lia, explains how she stopped wanting to go out, or be alone, relying on her mum to take her places.
Jess - who lived alone - admits she had a samurai sword in her house because it made her feel safer, while Abby moved back home to live with her parents.
And none of the women knew that they weren't the only victim.
Did the women go to the police?
Eventually, the women did report the stalking to the police, but Jess admits she was a bit embarrassed and felt as though she was partly to blame because she had put her modelling photographs on social media.
Meanwhile, Lia explains that she was told no crime had been committed because nothing had happened to her.
And shockingly, Jess was told that nothing would happen unless a rape or a murder had been committed!
What did Abby do?
Abby booked a trip to Ibiza with a friend but before she went, she received threatening messages telling her the stalker would follow her on her holiday.
She called the police but she says in the documentary that she was made to feel silly, despite being so scared.
How did Matthew Hardy get caught?
After a friend passed on another message, Jess did some of her own detective work and discovered a news report about a man called Matthew Hardy, who - ten years earlier - had been convicted of hacking into Facebook.
She says the report sounded familiar because it was so exactly like what had happened to her.
Meanwhile, Abby had also stumbled upon the stalker's real name.
And in Northwich - Matthew Hardy's hometown - the police were finally beginning to take notice.
PC Kevin Anderson from Cheshire Police started putting together the evidence. And paralegal Lia provided the documents he needed. Lia had approached her ordeal as though it was a case she was working on and had collated a 700-page dossier of every contact she had with Hardy.
Were there other victims?
There are other victims featured in the documentary, and overall police discovered Hardy could have stalked as many as 62 women over a decade.
He's thought to be one of the UK's worst ever stalkers.
Where is Matthew Hardy now?
Hardy was charged with five counts of stalking. In October 2021, he pleaded guilty and in January 2022, he was sentenced to nine years in prison, which was later reduced by a year.
Is there a trailer for Can I Tell You A Secret?
Yes, the creepy trailer for Can I Tell You A Secret reveals the terrifying messages women were getting online and the impact that they had on their lives.
You can watch below...
Can I Tell You a Secret Netflix release date
Can I Tell You A Secret was released on Wednesday, February 21, and is available to watch now on Netflix. There are two 50-minute episodes to watch.
