Reality TV "star" in fake rape scam

The depths to which Swedish 'docusoap' stars will stoop to keep their faces on the front pages have always been impressive. But this week they sunk to an all time low thanks to Robert 'Robban' Andersson, the loose cannon famed for his backside-bearing antics on the Robinson reality TV island.

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In his latest escapade he was hailed a tabloid hero after apparently saving a woman from an attempted rape in Stockholm last week. This week the truth came out: it was a scam.

The "attack" took place last Friday evening. "I heard her screaming and just ran over," he convincingly told Expressen. "I didn’t have time to think," he modestly told Aftonbladet.

A 19 year old woman later told police that she had been attacked by an unknown man. The story was backed up by two paparazzi photographers who just happened to be skulking around the scene of the crime. In the consequent police hunt, an underground train was stopped and a man, fitting the woman's description of her attacker, was arrested.

But the man was innocent. In fact, there was no suspected rapist on the run and, indeed, no attempted rape. Andersson and his three accomplices - the woman and two photographers - had plotted the twisted story in the vain hope of pulling some positive publicity in his direction.

Since his rise to fame on Robinson, Andersson has been embroiled in a number of scandals which have seen his already fragile 'celebrity' status plummet.

The understatement of the month award goes to Stockholm police. "We were deceived," they said. Not half, retorted the tabloids.

After a second round of questioning, the female 'victim' finally came clean and told Wednesday’s Aftonbladet how she was lured into the stunt. "They offered me drinks, enticed me with money and took advantage of the fact I was drunk," she said.

Meanwhile Andersson protested his innocence and kept to his account of the evening. "I am angry. What I know is that I saw her crying like mad, that this guy was shaking her and I intervened." He even began to sound as though he believed it himself.

But it's amazing what a night in a cell can do to a celebrity's clarity of thought. A teary-eyed Andersson emerged from custody on Wednesday morning with a new take on the story. The headlines simply read, "I lied".

"I thought it was funny, but I am an idiot. Thirty years old and as naive as a child. My whole life is a docusoap," he told Thursday’s Aftonbladet.

"I understood the seriousness of it all when I was lying in the cell and realised that I could end up in prison."

The self-deprecation was unrelenting. "I am so stupid," he told Thursday’s Expressen. He also said that he "apologises to all the Swedish people", showing the yawning gap between reality TV participants' perception of their importance and, well, the reality.

And if he sounds like a man desperately trying to avoid a longer stretch inside, that's because he is.

According to policeman Jonny Petersson the case will continue to be taken very seriously. "The woman, Robban and the two photographers are suspected of planning this false alarm which can result in up to a year in jail."

All four are expected to face prosecution in the middle of December.

Sources: Expressen, Aftonbladet