Truth: it really can be stranger than fiction. Few know this as well as television producers, who have been mining ripped-from-the-headlines stories for the plots of TV dramas for years now. In recent times, there have been a plethora: there are the fictionalised retellings of terrible true crimes — think The Staircase, Until I Kill You and any of the American Crime Story series.
Dramas detailing torrid periods in the lives of prominent people — the pulpy Pamela Anderson-inspired Pam and Tommy springs to mind — plus all those millions of TV biopics. Netflix’s lavishly expensive drama The Crown might look high-concept, but at its heart, it’s simply another in a long line. But by far the most popular of this genre are the tales of scammers and con artists.
The latest to hit screens is the locally-produced Apple Cider Vinegar, landing on Netflix next week — and it’s a story that hits close to home. The six-part limited series is the fictionalised re-telling of the rise — and spectacular fall — of Australian cancer scammer, Belle Gibson, who built an online fanbase and amassed a small fortune off the back of claims she’d cured her terminal brain cancer through healthy eating and nutrition. She harnessed the power of early-days Instagram to launch her own app, The Whole Pantry, plus an accompanying cookbook, making a small fortune in the process.
Trouble was, it was all built on a lie. Her web of deceit unravelled spectacularly in 2015 when two Melbourne journa.
