I was locked in a filthy Thai prison for 11 weeks after TikTok trolls accused me of child abuse
Controversial TikTok star Ellis Matthews has been deported back to the UK after she found herself locked up in a filthy prison in Thailand - and the distraught Lancashire mum was forced to leave her four-year-old son behind.
The 34-year-old ‘mum on the run’ gained notoriety after she fled the UK while pregnant four years ago to start a new life in South-East Asia.
She swiftly became a hit on TikTok after sharing tips on how to claim UK benefits abroad, telling thousands of followers how she was receiving £2,300 a month while living her ‘dream life’ with her newborn son in Thailand.
In one video, the Lancashire mum filmed herself clutching a fistful of notes and wearing a string bikini. She told her followers: “I picked up my Disability Living Allowance today and I’ve been doing so for the past four years of not living in the UK.”
Some were irked by Ellis’ exotic lifestyle in the tourism hotspot, funded by British taxpayers, and the ‘mum on the run’ found herself targeted by ‘trolls’ who she says tried to “ruin her life”.
Her dream turned into a nightmare in March when she was arrested by Thai immigration officials for allegedly overstaying her visa. Her and her four-year-old son Cairo were then locked up in the Mothers and Children Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok - “a hell hole prison” - which she said was teeming with rats and cockroaches.
“It was hell on earth, it's the worst prison that you can imagine,” she said. “My skin was covered in rashes, both me and my son got lice. We were just left there to rot.”
According to Ellis, who is from Bamber Bridge, the Thai authorities took action against her after a local anti-child abuse organisation raised concerns about Cairo's welfare. She believes their enquiries were instigated by her enemies on TikTok who reported her to social services in Thailand.
She said: “My visa was cancelled because some people in the UK were trolling me and accused me of horrible things like human trafficking and child abuse. They got the Thai authorities involved and it's led to me being deported without my son.”
After 11 weeks in detention, Ellis was allowed to fly home to the UK last week - but was forced to leave her son behind. She said he is now in the care of family in Thailand as a result of a court-appointed guardianship arrangement. She says she is “desperate” to be reunited with her boy.
“I admit, it was rage bait. I needed the money”
The 34-year-old admits she was not always entirely truthful and says her brazen claims about living abroad on British benefits was a hoax. Her TikTok page has now been taken down.
“It was rage bait,” Ellis confessed. “I needed the money to pay our rent in Thailand and I knew that type of content would do well. Simple as that.
“That stuff gets people’s backs up and goes viral. There really wasn’t any disability benefits coming in. It was all for content.”
“Trolls make my life hell - I’m afraid for my boy’s life”
The 34-year-old says she is also ready to address the serious allegations accusing her of ‘child-abuse’ against her boy.
Ellis said a group of TikTok viewers in the UK reported her to Thai authorities alleging concern for her son’s welfare. She claims the ‘TikTok sleuths’ had even hired people to ‘stalk’ her in Thailand to gather evidence of mistreatment and have Cairo removed from his mother’s care.
“I had an anti-child trafficking group spying on me for 18 months,” said Ellis. “The Thai government had a file on me and there would be people following me around, taking pictures of us.”
“The hate against me was unbelievable. There were death threats, people threatening to murder me and my little boy. It was sick. They did everything they could to get me locked up and Cairo taken away.”
Ellis shared some of these shocking videos and messages with the Post.
What happens next?
Ellis, who is mum to another two boys in the UK, says she wants to be reunited with all her children and “settle down to a peaceful life”.
She said: “I’m fighting for contact with their dad and social services. I want to make things right. I won’t be leaving them again. I just want to settle down with my family.”
Ellis says she remains in daily contact with her toddler son in Thailand, but says she worries about what might happen if she was to bring him home to the UK. She fears that social services will take him from her.
She said: “We speak everyday. He’s being looked after by my uncle and his family in Thailand. I’m sending him parcels with food and toys, and paying for his schooling over there. I miss him so, so much.
“But I’m terrified of bringing him home to the UK, I don’t want him to be taken away from me. I grew up in care and had the most traumatic childhood. I won’t allow that to happen to him. That’s why we fled the UK in the first place. I never wanted to come back.”