Stacey Dooley: I had bleak realisation I don’t think I would report if raped

Stacey Dooley said: “If somebody raped me, I don’t think I would go to the police,” after hearing stories of women’s experiences with the courts and investigators.

The TV presenter, 38, is bringing out the new BBC programme Rape On Trial, which covers the delays to court cases and waiting times for victims of alleged rape and sexual assault.

Dooley told The Radio Times: “If somebody raped me, I don’t think I would go to the police, which is so bleak and such a disappointing realisation … But in terms of what I’ve witnessed, I wouldn’t feel confident.”

Dooley called her a “powerhouse” and said she wonders “if even she really understands the magnitude of what she’s done for other women”, following Ms Pelicot waiving her right to anonymity by speaking at the trial, after police told her of her husband’s crimes.

The TV presenter said “the bravery it takes” to report rape and sexual assault “is unbelievable” as “it’s one of the few crimes where your credibility is immediately brought into question”.

There is a record-high crown court backlog in England and Wales, which has almost doubled in five years to 73,105 at the end of September last year.

The Victims’ Commissioner Baroness Newlove published a report earlier this month which found many victims of serious offences including rape, murder and robbery, are facing years-long waits for justice.

Dooley also spoke about another one of her upcoming documentary shows, Meet The Shoplifters, where she meets people who steal and staff members dealing with the issue.

She admitted that she took items from shops when she was young, saying she “perhaps tried to justify it in some way” when she was a young teenager, but now does not understand how she could have behaved that way.

There was nearly half a million cases of shoplifting recorded by police in England and Wales in the year up to September 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The figure of a total of 492,914 shoplifting offences logged by forces in the year to September 2024 is the highest since current records began in the year to March 2003.

She explained: “We are working hard in policing to improve our response to rape and sexual offences.

“All 43 police forces in England and Wales have signed up to Operation Soteria, a transformational approach to rape and sexual offences investigation.

“This has seen policing open its doors to scrutiny from independent academics to look at the way police investigate rape. We are facing this directly, transparently and uncompromisingly. This process is not easy, but it is vital.

“Delivering rape investigations differently is helping us to rebuild trust and confidence, and we are seeing a steep increase in arrests and charges.

“According to the crime survey of England and Wales, fewer than one in six victims of rape and assault by penetration report the crime to the police.

“However, policing cannot do this alone, so we are working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service and across the criminal justice system to ensure that every agency plays their part in tackling this horrific crime.”

She urged victims of rape or sexual assault to report their incidents to the police saying they would be “treated sensitively” and with “respect and empathy”.

Ms Crew added: “We work closely with sexual assault referral centres (Sarcs) and independent sexual violence advisers (ISVAs) and we would urge anyone who is not comfortable with going to the police to use these independent specialist services instead.”

Dooley has presented the Panorama episode Stacey Meets The IS Brides and the documentaries Stacey Dooley: Locked Up With The Lifers, and Stacey Dooley: Stalkers.

The Luton-born presenter made her acting stage debut in 2:22 A Ghost Story last year, and won Strictly Come Dancing in 2018 with her partner Kevin Clifton, who she went on to have one child with.

Another upcoming show from her, Growing Up Gypsy, will see Dooley exploring young women’s lives in the traveller community.

The full interview is available in the Radio Times and online here radiotimes.com/tv/documentaries/stacey-dooley-critics.