Duffy to speak out about kidnap ordeal in Disney+ documentary
Welsh singer Duffy is to speak about her sexual assault, kidnap and absence from music for first time in a Disney+ documentary.
The announcement was made in a keynote address at international TV festival Series Mania in France on Wednesday by Angela Jain, Disney+’s head of content for EMEA.
In 2020, Duffy revealed in a social media post that she had stepped away from music in 2011 after being kidnapped and raped.
Duffy “disappeared off the face of the earth and hasn’t really spoken about what happened in that time, other than about five or six years ago in a social media post,” Jain said, calling the feature-length doc a “really powerful project.
“She has entrusted us with her story, so we really have a huge responsibility to handle this with care and sensitivity, because she’s speaking about what happened to her for the first time,” she added. Production is to start soon on the documentary.
After the initial revelation, Duffy shared details of the kidnapping in a 3,000-word post on her website.
“It was my birthday, I was drugged at a restaurant, I was drugged then for four weeks and travelled to a foreign country,” she wrote. The perpetrator, whose name she did not reveal, “made veiled confessions of wanting to kill me.”
She continued: “It didn’t feel safe to go to the police. I felt if anything went wrong, I would be dead, and he would have killed me. I could not risk being mishandled or it being all over the news during my danger. I really had to follow what instincts I had.”
She eventually did tell the police, but said in the post that she has felt “petrified” ever since. Of a potential return to music, Duffy said at the time: “I’m doing this to be freed, for all of me to be freed. What follows remains to be seen.”
A year ago appeared in public for the first time in a decade in a clip on social media – as her global hit Mercy was given a makeover.
The song was the singer’s global breakthrough hit which propelled her to huge success with her debut album Rockferry.
The singer confirmed that she was working with dance artist E.motion on the track.
The electronic music DJ posted a video of Duffy to TikTok with the the caption: “Some of you asked if Duffy was really doing a UK Garage remix with us… #duffy #newmusic #ElectronicMusic #ukgarage #dancemusic #remix.”
The clip shows the Welsh star lip-syncing to a garage remix of Mercy. The track was expected to be released, however as of yet there is no sign of the music being put out.
Duffy. Mercy Remix. Coming Soon. 🤍 #Duffy pic.twitter.com/r5hBlY1SRN
— Duffy News (@DuffyFans) March 26, 2025
A clip of the song was revealed on social media, with many Duffy fans overjoyed that she appeared to be making music again.
The Welsh star had not put out any music since 2020 when she shocked the world by revealing the traumatic details of a terrifying kidnap ordeal.
The same year she posted two of her unreleased songs, Something Beautiful and River in the Sky.
🚨 #Duffy is working on a remix of ‘Mercy’ with e.motionzzz
Duffy replied with ‘Let’s get it finished 👀’ on the artists Instagram profile.
This will be her first official release in 9 years after she worked on the ‘Legend’ movie soundtrack. pic.twitter.com/nGb11KwFyC
— Duffy News (@DuffyFans) March 26, 2025
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
The only Welsh Singer / Songwriter to have ever won a Grammy. Not Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey or any of the other big rock bands. Not really acknowledged in Wales as she should be. The 2009 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album for her debut album Rockferry. Nominated for three Grammy awards total. Welcome back.