The complainant who accused a Britain's Got Talent dancer of a sexual offence told police that she had spoken of taking her own life if the allegation became known, an inquest has heard.

Kerri-Anne Donaldson, who reached the semi-final of the ITV show in 2014 as part of the dance group Kings and Queens, was found dead at her home in Farnborough, Hampshire, on June 7 2023.

An inquest held at Winchester was told that the 38-year-old was arrested on June 4 and questioned at Basingstoke police station about the "sexual" offence which she denied.

After going missing and being found at a hotel in Woking, Surrey, she was taken to hospital having taken an overdose.

Following her discharge, Ms Donaldson was found hanged at her home on the following day.

Detective Constable Benjamin Harris, of Hampshire Constabulary, who led the investigation into the accusation against Ms Donaldson, told the inquest that the complainant was interviewed on video about the allegation.

When asked by the coroner Jason Pegg, Det Con Harris confirmed that the complainant had said that Ms Donaldson had told them that she would take her own life "if someone finds out" about the allegation.

Det Con Harris said that he had considered the possibility that Ms Donaldson's reported comments could be a "form of control" against the complainant.

He said: "In my experience in some offences it can often be said without wanting to carry it out."

He said that the suggestion of self-harm was "something we take very seriously" and he reported it to his senior officers and advised his colleagues who subsequently arrested Ms Donaldson on June 4.

Det Con Harris said that after the interview he graded Ms Donaldson's risk of self-harm as "standard" and said: "When I spoke to Kerri, which was after the interview, in the cell she presented to me at that time that she was fine, so normal.

"She had no indication that she wanted to take her own life, when that was spoken about with her she gave no indication that would happen."

He added that she had told him she had seen a counsellor previously and added: "She knew how to get help and she was in no way considering harming herself."

He said that "with the benefits of hindsight" he should have included a question about the complainant's comments when making the risk assessment of Ms Donaldson.

Det Con Harris added that the police did not have the powers to detain someone unless they presented an "imminent" danger to themselves.

The inquest has heard that a post-mortem examination gave a cause of death of hanging and it had also found that she had non-fatal levels of medication in her blood which were consistent with an overdose.

The hearing continues.

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