Notorious Australian scammer Belle Gibson is back in the limelight thanks to a new British documentary series, which is set to delve into how she spun her web of lies.

ITV’s two-part documentary Instagram’s Worst Con Artist charts Gibson’s rise as a social media influencer, which was largely propelled up first by tragic terminal cancer diagnosis, then by her claim she’d cured herself through healthy eating.

The problem?

Her claims were completely bogus.

She’d never even been diagnosed with cancer – and she’d taken a lot of her followers’ hard-earned money.

Born in Launceston, Tasmania in 1991, Gibson moved as a child to Brisbane, then to Perth before settling in Melbourne where she became a mother at 18 years old.

Claiming online to have undergone radiotherapy and chemotherapy for multiple cancers, including a brain tumour, she said the only thing to save her was alternative therapy and nutrition.

Painting herself as an expert in holistic wellness, Gibson used her cancer experience to promote her app ‘The Whole Pantry’, which revolved around healthy meal planners and recipes based on natural ingredients.

The app was so popular Gibson scored an international cookbook deal with Penguin, and her app was handpicked by Apple to be a pre-installed app on the Apple Watch.

She earned $412,000 from these deals, which stacked on top of her earnings from her app, paid social media posts, and donations she failed to give to charities as promised.

How did the truth come out?

Multiple people in Gibson’s inner circle suspected the influencer’s story had holes, but nothing went further than rumours until a 2015 investigation by The Age journalists revealed that the vast majority of Gibson’s fundraising for cancer charities had never been donated.

From there, her whole story unravelled.

In April 2015, Gibson finally admitted her deception to Women’s Weekly.

“None of it’s true,” Gibson said.

“I don’t want forgiveness. I just think [speaking out] was the responsible thing to do.

“Above anything, I would like people to say, ‘OK, she’s human.’”

What happened next?

Consumer Affairs Victoria launched an investigation into Gibson’s fundraising fraud, and in 2016 brought a civil case against Gibson and her company Inkerman Road Nominees.

Gibson was found guilty of most, but not all, claims against her, and was fined $410,000 – which she failed to pay, leading the Sheriff’s Office of Victoria to raid her house in 2020.

This year, she pleaded for “humanity” in the face of the fine, although financial analysis presented in court in 2019 found she had managed to spend $91,000 between 2017 and 2019.

“I haven’t paid things because I can’t afford to,” she told A Current Affair in February.

“I can’t get into the workplace.”

ITV’s documentary won’t be the last time we see Gibson’s actions play out on screen; Netflix is developing a series set to be filmed in Melbourne, Apple Cider Vinegar, which is said to be based on Gibson’s story.