Surviving Fred and Rose West

Nearly 50 years after escaping the UK’s most notorious house of horrors, a survivor of Fred and Rose West tells her story in a documentary for the very first time. 

Kathleen was just 17 when she took a room in 25 Cromwell Street. Isolated and vulnerable, she had unwittingly fallen into the clutches of Britain's most prolific serial killers. Fred and Rose groomed and abused Kathleen during her time as their tenant, before she bravely escaped and vowed never to speak again about her misery at Cromwell Street.

But in 1994, everything changed. When Gloucestershire Police uncovered the bodies of nine young women buried beneath Cromwell Street, it triggered one of the biggest investigations in British history. Kathleen learnt of the Wests’ other horrific crimes and was forced to confront her traumatic past. Kathleen came face to face once more with Rose, giving evidence at court that helped secure her conviction.

This series follows Kathleen on a remarkable journey, as she revisits her past and the site of Cromwell Street for the first time in 50 years. Combining intimate testimony, emotional reunions and insights from those at the heart of the West investigation, the series is a powerful story of survival from inside the home of Fred and Rose West.