The British ballerina, brutal Cold War Russia… and the mysterious stranger who helped her escape
Daily MailThe photo of her ‘saviour’ Natasha that she treasured since the 1970s When Debbie Gayle told her son Jake her remarkable story – kept secret for nearly five decades – he was determined to track down her mysterious ‘guardian angel’. Complaints were made to the British Council, but Debbie doesn’t know what came of it, saying, ‘It was a different time, when things were easily brushed under the carpet.’ Once back home, Debbie shut down. Debbie with Jake, aged two, in 1992 ‘When I was 21, I met Jake’s dad, a handsome young Army officer, and thought, “I’ll marry you, have a nice life and forget the horror.”’ But Debbie never forgot Natasha – and was haunted by the fear that she suffered terrible repercussions for what she did. We talk about meeting up all the time – one day we will.’ ‘Natasha didn’t suffer any terrible repercussions for helping my mum, or none that I can gauge,’ says Jake.
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British Ballerina is set to graduate form the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow
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