Channel 5 airs Delia Balmer documentary on John Sweeney at 10pm

Channel 5 will show I Survived a Serial Killer: The Delia Balmer Story again tonight at 10pm on May 28, returning to the account of Delia Balmer and john sweeney. The documentary first aired in 2024 and focuses on Balmer’s relationship with the murderer.

The broadcaster’s teaser says, "Delia Balmer relives what it was like to live with a killer." Balmer met Sweeney in 1991 at a London pub, then invited him to live with her after they began a relationship.

Delia Balmer and John Sweeney

Balmer tried to end the relationship in 1994. That same year, Sweeney tied her to her bed and intimidated her with a firearm and blade, before lunging at her with an axe outside her home after a breach of police conditions.

The attack left Balmer with life-changing injuries. A neighbour stepped in with a baseball bat and saved her life.

Living With A Serial Killer

Balmer later wrote the memoir Living With A Serial Killer. She was a former Royal Free Hospital nurse and also worked as a therapeutic masseuse, and she has said in an interview with ITV that she continues to struggle with her mental health after the attack.

The re-airing gives viewers one scheduled chance to watch Balmer’s account on May 28 at 10pm, with the film drawing directly on events from 1991 and 1994 rather than adding new material. For readers deciding whether to tune in, the broadcast is a one-night return to a survivor-led story that is already on the record.