For those who can't get enough of Netflix true crime documentaries, Con Mum needs to be your next watch. It details the harrowing case of chef Graham Hornigold, who grew up not knowing his mother, and his former partner, Heather, and his estranged mum, Dionne, who re-entered his life after 45 years of no contact.
In Con Mum, viewers learn how Dionne Hornigold reaches out to her son Graham via an email during the early days of the pandemic lockdown, when Graham's then-partner Heather was pregnant with their son. Because Dionne's email contained details about Graham, such as him being born in Germany on a British army base, that few to none would have known, he quickly feels confident that Dionne is who she claims to be.
What happened next saw Graham conned out of more than £300,000, as Dionne skilfully duped him and others in his circle into funding her lavish lifestyle. She has never faced criminal charges for the allegations made in the documentary and did not respond to Netflix's requests for comment.
Here's what we know about where Graham from Con Mum is now.
Who is Graham Hornigold in Con Mum?
Graham Hornigold is a talented pastry chef who shares the harrowing story of being conned out of more than £300,000 by his own mother, from whom he was estranged for the majority of his life.
In the documentary, Con Mum, he bravely shares that he fell for her lies because "on a cellular level" he so badly wanted a relationship with her, not least because his own father was allegedly abusive.
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What is the true story behind Graham and Dionne in Con Mum?
In this gripping new Netflix documentary, Con Mum, viewers learn that while the country went into lockdown during the pandemic, chef Graham received an email from a woman alleging to be his mother – a message that he's initially delighted by having spent time looking for her just months earlier.
After quizzing the sender, who identifies herself as "Dionne formerly known as Theresa" (which is at odds with the name listed on his birth certificate, Catherine Mahmud), Graham feels confident that Dionne is his real mother. When they meet in a Liverpool hotel at her request, he said the bond was instantaneous. But his joy soon descends into a complex whirlwind of emotions, as Dionne alleges she has just six months to live due to a terminal cancer diagnosis.
She then also claims to have been living in Singapore, be able to speak 18 languages and have businesses all over the world – along with an insanely high net worth that she wanted to pass on to her newly discovered son.
Quickly, Graham and Dionne begin spending more time together and the senior citizen also claims to be the illegitimate child of the Sultan of Brunei, also boosting her wealth. The pair hang out in high end hotels, where all the staff appear to know Dionne intimately, and Dionne even says, "I'm going to buy you a present after 45 years" and appears to shell out for expensive cars. Not only for Graham, but for his then-pregnant wife Heather too.
But soon, Dionne begins to ask Graham to front some of the bills for her, claiming she's having issues accessing her bank account. When Graham's son is born, Dionne then seems to become possessive and her attitude towards Heather quickly changes, with Heather alleging Dionne called her a "stubborn lady" who wasn't raising her newborn baby properly.
Graham is then duped into accompanying Dionne to Zurich, under the guise of her wanting to transfer her wealth over to Graham; a four day trip turns into two months, ripping a hole in Graham and Heather's relationship and luring more unsuspected people into Dionne's web of lies.
Dionne then asks Graham to cover the cost of her lavish hotel stays in Switzerland, totally over £20,000. When Heather raises an alarm about this, Graham reassures her to "stop worrying, it will come back tenfold", believing his mother to be a multi-millionaire.
It later transpires that Dionne has lied about everything – from her terminal cancer diagnosis to being an illegitimate royal child to her status as a wealthy woman – but she is actually Graham's biological mother.
"She lied and I made life changing decisions based on that, I've made choices which have effected my son, my partner... I realised I was drowning in debt," Graham says when reflecting back on the ordeal his mother put him through and the astronomical debt she saddled him with.
Where is Graham from Con Mum now?
Sadly, according to the end of the documentary, Heather and Graham were unable to repair their relationship which was so damaged by Dionne's influence and the terrifying debt they were left saddled with. However, from his social media accounts it looks as though Graham is proudly the co-founder of some success stories in the foodie world, including Smart Patisserie Ltd (described as an international pastry, kitchen and hospitality consultation, training and product development company) and Longboys doughnuts.
In one post on the Longboys account, Graham cheerfully talks viewers through the delicious new flavours dropping for spring – and receives a tonne of supportive comments in response.
He has also appeared on the likes of Lorraine to tell the story of being duped by Dionne and praises his friends, who are like family, for getting him through the difficult experience.
"As painful as it's been, as stressful as it's been, I've put my life back together," Graham says towards the end of Con Mum. "I realised that you can recover, dust yourself off and keep going. You have to have the closest of friends around [...] That's what I call family."
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
