Why I've Been Hounded Since Katy's Death

It was in KIERON DUCIE’s house that the model Katy French had the seizure that preceded her tragic death. Since then, he has been the subject of a campaign in the press which reveals the skewed news values of too many newspapers.

Jason O'Toole, 06 Aug 2009

It’s almost two years since the model Katy French’s tragic death, but the man who frantically drove her to hospital after she collapsed feels he is still being harassed by the press.

Speaking exclusively to Hot Press, Kieron ‘Wolf’ Ducie says he’s incensed with the way he is still being subjected to negative coverage by certain newspapers.

After Ducie spoke at length to Hot Press last year about the mysterious circumstances surrounding the model’s collapse in his home, the Dubliner vowed he was never going to speak to the media again on the subject, in an effort to move on with his life.

But it’s almost a year since that interview, and Ducie is still being hounded. For example, the news that Ducie’s girlfriend, Elaine Buggle, was pregnant, sparked stories in the tabloids that they were planning to call their child – if a girl – Katy in memory of the model. Other publications announced the news by saying the “big bad wolf” was expecting a cub!

Ducie says he was “disgusted” by the stories.

“I cringed at that. I didn’t even know the sex of the baby! The most hurtful thing was that I hadn’t had the opportunity to tell my granny the wonderful news about the pregnancy before it broke in the papers. And the tone of these stories was disgusting,” he said.

He also points out that Elaine didn’t know the famous model, and that it’s absurd that she’d want to christen their child after Katy French. So how did his girlfriend react to the hullabaloo surrounding the story?

“It was very upsetting for Elaine. It really was. That was the first time she experienced bad press like that – and it was all so untrue. It wasn’t nice to see her upset. Honestly, 99% of all this is rubbish and sensationalism. It’s an awful lot to ask anybody to take on, but thankfully I’ve got a strong girl,” he adds.

“As I said to you last year, I wanted to go into 2009 by moving on with my life. I don’t want my name being dragged into the papers. I don’t want to do interviews – I don’t want to even talk about it (Katy French’s death) anymore. Unfortunately, it’s something that will be forever linked with me. The last two years of my life have been very tough.”

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