The Beauty Queen Who Exposed Scotland’s Most Dangerous Catfish
Good evening. This is a story that begins quietly, with a simple friend request online, but ends up exposing one of the most disturbing cases of digital deception in recent Scottish history.
At the center of it is Abbie Draper. Many people knew her as a beauty pageant finalist and a young woman building a career as a flight attendant. Her life looked ordinary, even exciting. But back in 2014, while she was home visiting her grandfather in hospital, a Facebook message appeared. It was from a man calling himself David Graham. He claimed to be a doctor. He said he was involved in her grandfather’s care. And his profile looked convincing.
The messages became friendly. Flirtatious. Persistent. But something never quite felt right. Small details didn’t add up. Abbie’s mother didn’t recognize this so-called doctor. A charity event he promoted didn’t exist. And when Abbie started checking official records, she made a shocking discovery. David Graham wasn’t real.
What followed was not a quick reveal, but years of determination. Abbie began connecting with other women. She realized she wasn’t alone. Dozens of women had been drawn into the same web. Emotional manipulation. Constant calls and messages. Gifts delivered to their homes. Pressure. Control. And in some cases, sexual coercion and threats.
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The person behind the fake profile was a nurse named Adele Rennie. Someone trusted. Someone who worked in the same hospital as Abbie’s grandfather. Using fake identities and even voice-changing technology, Rennie created elaborate online personas to target women, often in her own community.
At first, authorities struggled to act. Catfishing alone wasn’t considered a crime. But as the scale of the harm became clear and as evidence mounted, the case moved forward. Adele Rennie was eventually convicted on multiple charges, including stalking and sexual coercion. She served prison time, was released and then reoffended. Again and again.
The BBC documentary, The Beauty Queen and the Catfish, lays this story bare. Not as a thriller, but as a warning. It shows how easily trust can be exploited online and how devastating the emotional impact can be for victims who did nothing wrong.
Today, Adele Rennie remains behind bars. Abbie Draper, meanwhile, has become a powerful example of resilience. She didn’t just protect herself. She helped expose a predator and gave a voice to women who felt isolated and ashamed.
This story matters because it highlights a modern danger that can reach anyone, anywhere, with just a message and a smile on a screen. And it reminds us that sometimes, the most important investigations don’t start in police stations, but with someone brave enough to say, something isn’t right.
That’s the story tonight. Thank you for watching.
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