Can I tell you a secret? Episode one: the beginning

Can I tell you a secret? Series

Guardian journalist Sirin Kale takes us to a small town in the north of England to uncover how one man began a decade of cyberstalking

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In this new six-episode podcast, Guardian journalist Sirin Kale investigates the story of Matthew Hardy, a cyberstalker who terrified people in his hometown and beyond for over a decade.

His harassment would often start in the same way, with a fake profile posing as a young woman asking a simple question: “Hey hun, can I tell you a secret?”. This series attempts to untangle his web of deception to find out how and why he wreaked havoc over so many people’s lives.

Episode one begins in his hometown, Northwich, Cheshire, where Sirin meets some of his earliest victims – Andrea Yuile, Amber and Amy Bailey. They tell us how he infiltrated their lives and talk about the horrendous fallout of what he did.

  • Subscribe to Can I Tell You a Secret? on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts
  • If you need any support around stalking and harassment, you can get in touch with the Suzy Lamplugh Trust or call the National Stalking Helpline on 0808 802 0300
Can I Tell You A Secret?
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