What happened to Until I Kill You’s Delia Balmer?

Until I Kill You has gripped ITV1 viewers this week, with Anna Maxwell Martin and Shaun Evans playing out the true story of serial killer John Sweeney’s dangerous relationship with Delia Balmer.

Despite being attacked by Sweeney a number of times and held hostage in her own home by him, Balmer managed to survive her terrifying ordeal with him and was instrumental in getting him convicted of his crimes, sending him to prison.

On Thursday, ITV1 gave further insights into the true crime case with documentary Until I Kill You: The Real Story, narrated by Maxwell Martin and featuring the real Delia Balmer whose memoir inspired the drama series.

This is what we learned about Balmer’s experiences and what she is doing now.

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Who is Delia Balmer?

Viewers of ITV1’s latest true crime drama will be familiar with Balmer as the woman who helped bring killer John Sweeney to justice after surviving a violent relationship with him.

She was working as an agency nurse in London when she met Sweeney in the 1990s and described him as a caring person to begin with, before the relationship turned controlling and eventually violent.

At one stage, Sweeney held Balmer hostage in her own home, tying her up in a terrifying four-day ordeal and admitting to murdering his ex-girlfriend.

Nick Stevens, who made Until I Kill You, told The Guardian: “You might expect someone who has been through all that to be tearful with moments of gloomy introspection. But there’s none of that. Amazingly, Delia still sleeps in the bed Sweeney made for her and to which he tied her for four days. I can’t be sure how she processes all this. But I’m certain she’s in a better place than she was.”

Sweeney had gone on the run after holding Balmer hostage, but six years later returned to carry out a violent attack on Balmer on her doorstep, nearly killing her.

Balmer gave evidence against Sweeney at trial, openly showing her anger at both Sweeney and the justice system which she felt had let her down, and helped to secure his conviction which saw him jailed in 2011 for the murders of Melissa Halstead and Paula Fields, and the attempted murder of Balmer. He had also told Balmer that he had killed two German men in Amsterdam and police believe he may have killed three more women between 1970 and 1990.

Balmer’s 2017 book, Living with a Serial Killer, detailed her shocking experiences with Sweeney and was the inspiration for drama Until I Kill You.

What happened to Delia Balmer after John Sweeney was jailed?

In ITV’s documentary, Balmer is upfront about the impact Sweeney has had on her life, as well as her feelings about the help she had when trying to ask the police for help.

She said: “I’m an angry person. I’ve been very bitter and I’m still quite bitter. I don’t like the damage done to this body. It need not have happened.”

Although her friend interviewed in the documentary says that Sweeney “ruined her life, mentally and physically”, she has worked hard to break free of the nightmare and is now a therapeutic masseuse. In fact, in one scene of the documentary she showed her desk, an old massage table which she said was the last thing Sweeney built for her and which still bears his name and the date underneath it.

Speaking further on the long-lasting effects of her relationship with Sweeney and how she copes now, she said: “I am a perfectionist but my life is opposite of perfect. I often suffer from depression and anxiety, afraid of life and afraid of the future, a compulsive worrier.

“When I look in the mirror I see a stranger. Certain physical pain, I will have for life. I am stuck. I cannot move on, and cannot go further. Fear holds me back from doing certain things. I live for travel, but it has also become almost my only escape from reality. Ballet classes have always been an important part of my life.”

Delia Balmer’s anger at her experiences

As played out in the drama series, Balmer was unable to contain her anger when she first appeared in court to give evidence against Sweeney.

She said of being questioned in court in the documentary: “They treated me as though I was guilty. They made a mockery of all the scars and pain that I had.”

However, Balmer did secure Sweeney’s conviction through the evidence she gave, and he is set to remain in prison for the rest of his life.

She has also criticised the lack of mental health support available in helping her to process what had happened to her, and has said she wanted to write her account of Sweeney’s final attack on her in as much detail as possible for her memoir.

“My concern has always been to get the truth out by whatever means,” she said. “I remain an angry person. Sweeney was let out on bail. The police gave me insufficient protection before his final assault. Later, I was forced to go to court to be further traumatised by the system.”

All episodes of Until I Kill You, as well as documentary Until I Kill You: The Real Story, are available to stream on ITVX.