Bad Influencer: The Great Insta Con – Belle Gibson documentary for BBC Three

The BBC has announced two brand new documentaries for BBC Three and BBC iPlayer.

The first, Bad Influencer: The Great Insta Con, will unlock the shocking rise and fall of Belle Gibson, one of Instagram’s first super-influencers.

The BBC tease: “By 23, Australian Wellness guru Belle Gibson had cultivated an adoring global following online with the story that she’d cured her own terminal cancer by eating a plant-based diet and using alternative natural therapies.

“Warm, glamorous and authentic, Belle’s appeal transcended Instagram as she scored a lucrative publishing deal, while winning awards and plaudits in the press. But there was one problem with Belle’s story: she never had cancer.

“Seen through the eyes of those who adored her and those who exposed her, Bad Influencer will lift the lid on one of social media’s great mysteries: who was the real Belle Gibson – an ingenious con artist or a vulnerable young woman trapped in a lie?

“It will also examine the £3tn global Wellness industry, asking why Belle was allowed to thrive for so long, and asking if the pursuit of eating ‘clean’ is driving some young Brits to ill-health.”

Bad Influencer will is streaming now on BBC Three and will also on air on BBC One on Wednesday, 30 June at 10:35PM.

The second documentary, provisionally Gambling: When Our Fun Stopped, will tell the powerful stories of young men whose lives have been deeply affected by addiction to gambling.

“As the use of online gambling has increased dramatically over the past five years, so have concerns about rises in addiction, particularly among young men,” say the BBC. “Driven by the experiences of those harmed by gambling addiction, the film will trace their descent into addiction, the attempts they made to navigate and overcome it, and the tactics employed by some gambling firms that make recovery so difficult.

“Told with powerful testimony from friends and family, the devastating personal consequences of gambling addiction in young men are laid bare.”

A release dates is to be confirmed.