Channel 4 has ordered an independent investigation after a producer who worked on a true crime series took his own life. John Balson, who worked on the programme In the Footsteps of Killers, died on May 17 this year. Balson, who worked on the series in the first four months of the year while his wife was pregnant with their second child, reportedly received threats from someone linked to an individual that he was researching for the show.
After a family declined to take part in the docu-series, his wife claimed that he felt as though production blamed him for their decision. Deadline outlined that they had spoken to Balson’s family, who wanted to highlight the dangers of overworking in factual TV. The charity Samaritans stresses that ‘suicide is extremely complex and most of the time there is no single event or factor that leads someone to take their own life’.
A friend of mine tragically took his own life recently. John has a three year old and his wife Yumeno is due to have another daughter in August. He was a lovely guy and I’m heartbroken for his family.
Please read and give what you can. https://t.co/lbvO3wQHJe Balson was said to have experienced exhaustion, developed severe physical symptoms linked to a health condition called vestibular migraine disorder, and been suffering in his mental health.
On a fundraising page set up for Balson, it states: ‘John was a hard-working professional and was 100% healthy up until eight weeks ago, when he stood up at work one .
