A Britain’s Got Talent dancer who took her own life after she was arrested for a sexual offence feared her reputation had been ‘tarnished’ and that she would be sent to prison, an inquest has heard. 

Kerri-Anne Donaldson, who reached the semi-final of the ITV show in 2014 as part of the dance group Kings and Queens, was found dead at her home in Farnborough, Hampshire, on June 7, 2023.

Three days earlier the 38-year-old had been questioned at Basingstoke police station about an alleged ‘sexual’ offence, which she denied.

However, the inquest at Winchester Coroners’ Court heard that Ms Donaldson was worried she would be sent to jail and that she ‘didn’t want to live that life’.

Ms Donaldson went missing after her arrest and was found at a Travelodge hotel in Woking, Surrey, having taken an overdose. 

She was taken to St Peter’s Hospital on June 5 but the day after being discharged, she was found hanged at her home. 

Serina Juru, the psychiatric liaison nurse who initially assessed the dancer, said she deemed her as having a ‘high and imminent risk of suicide’ and rated her risk level as 10 out of 10.

Ms Juru added that Ms Donaldson had said she could be sent to prison if convicted of the offence, saying she ‘could not face that’ and was ‘very assertive’ about wanting to end her life.

She said: ‘She wanted to end her life because she was embarrassed about what had happened.’

Britain’s Got Talent star Kerri-Anne Donaldson took her own life three days after she was arrested on suspicion of a sexual offence

Ms Donaldson, who reached the semi-final of the ITV show in 2014 as part of the dance group Kings and Queens, was found dead at her home in Farnborough in June 2023

The young star died in June 2023 in her home town of Farnborough, Hampshire

Ms Juru said she offered Ms Donaldson an ‘informal’ admission to hospital for further assessment or home care support but she refused both options.

She was subsequently put on a high-risk care plan which involved her being observed by someone one to one at all times.

The next morning, Ms Donaldson was seen by psychiatrist Dr David Enright, and she was allowed to be discharged.

Dr Enright said that Ms Donaldson wasn’t experiencing ‘suicidal ideation and wanted to be alive’ when he carried out his assessment of her.

He said: ‘It’s not uncommon, I see changes in somebody’s risk presentation in the context of acute stress we do see patients that change in terms of the expression of suicidal ideation.’

Dr Enright added that he did not know what offence she had been arrested for.

The inquest previously heard the Britain’s Got Talent dancer was interviewed by police on video about the alleged sexual offence and told officers that she would take her own life ‘if someone finds out’ about the allegation.

Detective Constable Benjamin Harris, of Hampshire Constabulary, who led the interview, said he had considered the possibility that Ms Donaldson’s reported comments could be a ‘form of control’ against the complainant.

Responding to coroner Jason Pegg, he said: ‘In my experience in some offences it can often be said without wanting to carry it out.’ 

He said that the suggestion of self-harm was ‘something we take very seriously’ and he reported it to his senior officers and advised his colleagues who arrested Ms Donaldson. 

Ms Donaldson (front row, second left) performed on Britain’s Got Talent in 2014 as part of the group Kings and Queens alongside future Strictly professionals

Det Con Harris said that after the interview he graded Ms Donaldson’s risk of self-harm as ‘standard’.

He said: ‘When I spoke to Kerri, which was after the interview, in the cell she presented to me at that time that she was fine, so normal.

‘She had no indication that she wanted to take her own life, when that was spoken about with her she gave no indication that would happen.’

He added that she had told him she had seen a counsellor previously and added: ‘She knew how to get help and she was in no way considering harming herself.’

He said that ‘with the benefits of hindsight’ he should have included a question about the complainant’s comments when making the risk assessment of Ms Donaldson.

Det Con Harris added that the police did not have the powers to detain someone unless they presented an ‘imminent’ danger to themselves.

He said: ‘Due to the nature of the offences from a police standpoint, we had the duty to make the arrest and question [whether] to put on our protection measures potentially protecting anyone who may have been made vulnerable from what had been reported to us.’

The officer explained Ms Donaldson gave a no-comment interview, adding that they conducted an enhanced risk assessment of her because of the offences and the material that they had gone through. 

The allegations were associated with a higher risk of suicide, he said.   

After she was released, she failed to return home, leading her family to report her as a missing person before she was found at a Travelodge hotel in Woking, Surrey.

Her sister, Cara Donaldson, told the hearing that when she arrived there, Ms Donaldson was being taken to hospital in an ambulance having taken an overdose.

Ms Donaldson was discharged and returned home with her sister Cara on June 6, during which she revealed she had wanted to take her own life.

Her sister said that Ms Donaldson was ’emotional, crying, every time I brought up certain things’, particularly the allegations which had been made against her.

The dancer worked alongside many of Strictly’s biggest stars including Kevin Clifton who she performed with

Coroner Pegg asked whether she ‘[indicated] they were a sexual offence?’, and she responded ‘Yeah, she told me exactly what they were’.

They spent the evening together and Ms Donaldson assured her sister she was ‘not going to do’ anything after she left. The sisters continued messaging each other until about midnight on June 7.

Cara said: ‘I think one of the last messages she said ‘Thanks for everything today’, and put a red heart emoji.’

Tragically, when Cara visited her the next morning, she discovered her sister had died.

Ms Donaldson performed on the ITV talent show in 2014 as part of the super-group Kings and Queens alongside future Strictly Come Dancing professionals.

Other members of the troupe included Kai Widdrington and Neil and Katya Jones, all three of whom later became professional dancers on Strictly.

Paying tribute at the time of her death, Strictly professional Mr Jones said Ms Donaldson was ‘like a big sister’.

He wrote on X: ‘Kerri Anne Donaldson- remember that name and please never forget it because it belongs to a woman who loved to dance, create and perform, she had the cheekiest laugh and a heart of gold, she hated getting in the car with me, but would always listen to my crazy ideas, we shared so many moments and stories and she was always the voice of reason. Kerri you were my friend and like my big sister.’

Kevin Clifton also shared his upset, writing: ‘Absolutely heartbroken. I’ve known Kerri since we were kids and she was always the loveliest girl.

‘A friend and a dance partner. I’m glad we got to dance together this xmas. And that the whole cast of Strictly Ballroom got to work with you in rehearsals. RIP.’

Following her tragic death, Kevin shared a photo of himself with Ms Donaldson as he paid tribute to ‘the loveliest girl’ 

The inquest into her death opened yesterday and it was told that Ms Donaldson’s post-mortem examination gave a cause of death of hanging. 

It also found that she had non-fatal levels of medication in her blood which were consistent with an overdose.

The inquest also was told that the song ‘You are so beautiful’ was playing on repeat when Ms Donaldson was found.

A folded-up photograph of her dog was also found with the writing: ‘If only you knew how many times you had saved me.’

A number of photo books and canvases of family members were also found including a photo of Ms Donaldson with Cara with the words ‘I am so sorry’.

A photograph of their parents also had the words on it: ‘I am so sorry, I made the mistake of trust, I wish I could start again.’

Cara said she had asked her sister about the allegation and her sister had told her that she was not guilty and that it had ‘all been constructed’.

Describing her sister, she said: ‘Heart of gold, full of fun, brought happiness to life, especially mine, career-driven, adored her family, adored her friends, fantastic dance teacher, everyone loved her.’

She said her sister had been on television a few times and added: ‘Her main passion was to choreograph dancing.’

Cara also said that her sister had previously spoken about the ‘struggle making sure I can get the money in’ from her job running a dance studio but she said that these were the ‘usual worries’.

She said that Ms Donaldson had told her that she wanted a ‘big house and car’ and added: ‘She just wanted to be rich and famous.’

The hearing continues.

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