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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Entertainment
Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen

‘I broke out in a cold sweat’: could you stomach seeing your memories of bullying play out on TV?

Briohny (Melissa Kahraman), Portia (Markella Kavenagh) and Ronnie (Erana James) in Bad Behaviour
Briohny (Melissa Kahraman), Portia (Markella Kavenagh) and Ronnie (Erana James) in Bad Behaviour. Photograph: Sarah Enticknap

When Rebecca Starford was 14 she spent a year living in the bush as part of an outdoor education program at her elite boarding school. The bullying she experienced and witnessed there was violent and disturbing, escalating from scathing glances to one girl defiantly setting herself on fire – a dorm full of teenage girls turning into a vicious hunting ground.

Bad Behaviour, Starford’s 2015 memoir, chronicled that year and its impact on her adult relationships. Now the book has been adapted into a four-part Stan miniseries, which unflinchingly brings these events to life and examines the ripple effects of trauma.

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