New podcast unravels story behind Megan Bhari’s celebrity charity

A new seven-part series from BBC Studios investigates a disturbing story behind, what appeared to be a genuine charity endorsed by stars.

The series, hosted by Jamie Bartlett, tells the story of 16-year-old Megan Bhari who set up a charity in 2012 called Believe in Magic, which gained the backing of the boy band One Direction.

Seriously ill children were granted wishes by the charity, and it didn’t take long for Believe in Magic to become a household name in the child cancer community.

It emerged that Megan had a brain tumour and needed money for treatments abroad. She had started a fundraising campaign for life-saving treatment in the United States.

A small group of parents began to doubt the claims, so became internet sleuths. They discovered that Megan was in a Disney resort rather than a US hospital, so they hired a private detective to prove she wasn’t ill.

Then, Megan passed away in mysterious circumstances, which made the internet sleuths wonder if they’ve made a huge mistake.

Author and journalist Jamie Bartlett and producer Ruth Mayer investigated the truth about Megan Bhari, tracing back over the sleuths’ discoveries, meeting Megan’s old friends and supporters, and exploring one of the medical profession’s most confounding syndromes.

What they uncovered was a story of deception and celebrity obsession.

After months of digging, Jamie and Ruth discover a secretive official investigation into Megan’s life. The conclusion is shocking – and will have far-reaching consequences for everyone involved.

“The story of Believe in Magic shows the lengths people will go to be noticed – and how unprepared the health system is to handle deception and lies,” says journalist Jamie Bartlett, “Believe in Magic took me into a surreal and tragic world I never knew existed. Even today people are still searching for the truth about Megan Bhari, and we wanted to finally get them answers.”

Believe in Magic will be available from the 8 May, with the entire seven-part series on BBC Sounds for UK listeners and on BBC Podcasts Premium in the US, Canada and Australia. Episodes will also be released bi-weekly wherever you get BBC podcasts.