The 9/11 Faker

This programme tells the extraordinary story of Tania Head, one of the world's most audacious fakers. In the years following the 9/11 attacks, many stories emerged of triumph, tragedy and heroism. But one story stood out: Tania Head, one of only 19 people at or above the point of impact to survive, who also lost her fiancé in the attacks.

As she became President of the World Trade Center Survivors' Network, Tania's vivid account of miraculous escape and tragic loss convinced everyone: politicians, press, fellow survivors and the families of those who died in the attacks. But Tania wasn't who she said she was. And on the day of the attacks she wasn't even in New York; she was thousands of miles away in Spain.

When she joined the 9/11 Survivors' Network, Tania Head impressed her fellow survivors with how well she seemed to be coping. Within months of joining she had helped the network to get official status, secured state funding and asked a trauma expert to lead therapy sessions. She even supported the organisation with her own money and, in 2004, arranged the first survivors' visit to Ground Zero. No one questioned Tania, even when there seemed to be small inconsistencies in her version of events. But, as her fame grew, so, finally, did the questions.

In September 2007, The New York Times published a front page article questioning Tania's account. Shortly afterwards, she packed her bags and disappeared. So who was Tania Head? And how did her deception affect the members of the 9/11 Survivors' Network she left behind? The 9/11 Faker tells the intriguing story of how Tania Head became 9/11's most famous living face, and how she was exposed as one of the world's most notorious fakers.