Kerri-Anne Donaldson, who reached the semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent in 2014 with dance group Kings and Queens, was found dead at her home in Farnborough, Hampshire, on June 7 2023
13:37, 16 Feb 2026Updated 14:10, 16 Feb 2026
Kerri-Anne Donaldson was on BGT
A performer who featured on Britain’s Got Talent took her own life by hanging three days following her arrest on suspicion of a sexual offence, an inquest has been told.
Kerri-Anne Donaldson, who made it to the semi-final of the ITV programme in 2014 as part of dance troupe Kings and Queens, was discovered dead at her residence in Farnborough, Hampshire, on June 7 2023. An inquest conducted at Winchester heard the 38-year-old was detained on June 4 and interviewed at a police station regarding a “sexual” offence, which she refuted Following her release, she failed to return home, prompting her family to report her as a missing person before she was located at a Travelodge hotel in Woking, Surrey.
Her sister, Cara Donaldson, informed the hearing that upon her arrival there, Ms Donaldson was being transported to hospital in an ambulance having taken an overdose.
Kerri-Anne Donaldson (front row second from left) appeared on BGT(Image: Tom Dymond/Thames/REX/Shutterstock)
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Cara revealed her sister had confided to an emergency doctor at St Peter’s Hospital in north Surrey that she had wanted to kill herself and added: “I just wanted to hug her.”
She continued that when she drove her sister home on June 6, she had revealed that she had made the decision to take her own life when she had left the police station. She stated they had not been provided any care plan or guidance on how to support her sister when they departed the hospital.
Cara said that she spent the evening with her sister and was hesitant to leave her alone, saying: “If you do anything, Kerri, that will always be on my shoulders.”
She added: “She joked ‘I am not going to do that’, so I left. One of th One of the last messages was ‘Thanks for everything today’ and she sent a heart emoji, I just assumed she was OK.”
Cara explained that when her sister didn’t answer the phone the following morning, she went to her house and discovered a note at the top of the stairs which read: “Call 999, do not come in. I am sorry.”
Cara mentioned that she had questioned her sister about the allegation and her sister had assured her that she was innocent and that it had “all been constructed”.
Kerri was described to have a ‘heart of gold'(Image: Instagram/kerri_annedonaldson)
Describing her sister, she said: “Heart of gold, full of fun, brought joy to life, especially mine, career-driven, adored her family, adored her friends, fantastic dance teacher, everyone loved her.”
She mentioned that her sister had appeared on television a few times and added: “Her main passion was to choreograph dancing.”
The inquest heard that a post-mortem examination determined the cause of death as hanging and also found that she had non-lethal levels of medication in her blood consistent with an overdose.
The hearing continues.
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