New documentary ‘Bad Nanny’ has County Roscommon connection
“Bad Nanny’ is edited by Boyle native Grainne Creighton.
A jaw-dropping new two-part documentary unravelling the astonishing true story of Samantha Cookes – serial scammer, master manipulator, and at one point, a trusted nanny – comes to RTÉ One and RTÉ Player starting on Monday night, May 12th.
'Bad Nanny’ is solo edited by Boyle native Grainne Creighton. London based Grainne, daughter of Eddie & Sylvia Creighton, is a professional freelance video editor with over ten years’ experience. With a fine art background, she started making short films while studying a Masters in Film Editing in Goldsmiths University London. Since then she has worked on a large variety of projects, including commercial, short film and documentaries such as ‘Anorexia, My Family and Me”, ‘Patrick: A Young Traveller Lost’ and ‘Sean’.
This new documentary tells the story of Samantha Cookes who, for over a decade across Ireland and the UK, used a revolving door of aliases including Carrie Jade Williams and Sadie Harris to weave an intricate web of lies, deceiving everyone from vulnerable families to online communities. Her story was the subject of RTÉ podcast series The Real Carrie Jade.
A two-part film, 'Bad Nanny', is a co-production between RTÉ and BBC Northern Ireland from Alleycats TV, directed by Alan Bradley. It debuts on Monday, May 12th at 9.35 p.m. on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
With gripping first-hand accounts, chilling insight into psychological manipulation, shocking revelations, and raw emotion, the TV documentary series is a must-watch exposé on one woman’s decade-long con and the strength of those who brought her down. It features exclusive interviews with victims of Samantha’s scams who have never spoken publicly and includes unseen archive footage of Samantha.
Episode one of Bad Nanny introduces the audience to one of Samantha Cookes’ most brazen personas – Carrie Jade Williams, a supposedly terminally ill, award-winning author. From this shocking disguise, the documentary traces back through the years to uncover how Samantha’s cons became increasingly audacious, building up to her role as a “nanny” who was hiding a troubling secret. The documentary shows how she gained the trust of families, only to betray them in devastating ways.
In the second part of the series, airing on Monday, May 19th at 9.35 p.m. on RTÉ One, the spotlight turns to the vulnerable families left emotionally shattered by Samantha’s deceit. With the help of relentless TikTok sleuths and first-time interviews with those closest to her story, these women come together and turn detective to expose the truth, ultimately leading to Samantha’s dramatic downfall and conviction in 2025.
Head of Documentaries and Series at RTÉ, Gráinne McAleer said: “The shocking story of Samantha Cookes and her long list of scams and aliases is an intriguing story that needs to be told on screen. The two-part documentary series lays out this timeline of deceit brilliantly and captures the collective power of ordinary people. From the TikTok sleuths to the victims of Samantha’s scams that came together to expose her story, 'Bad Nanny' is a story of the power of ordinary people working together. It is also cautionary tale for anyone hiring someone to look after their nearest and dearest. ”
