Karen Matthews wants to flee the UK for a new life in Spain following the airing of BBC One drama The Moorside.
The mum-of-seven – who was behind the fake kidnap of her nine-year-old daughter Shannon, as depicted in the programme – has applied for a passport.
According to The Sun, the 41-year-old had wanted to move there following her release from prison in 2012, but her application was barred by probation staff.
Apparently she held talks with officers about spending six months of the year on the Costa Blanca but they blocked her plans.
The Yorkshire woman was on licence for four years following her release but, with that now ended, she is free to travel abroad.
A friend has reportedly told The Sun that a fresh start away from all the scandal is what she needs – especially now interest in her crime has been renewed by the two-part drama, featuring Sheridan Smith as her friend Julie Bushby.
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The ‘source’ revealed: “She knows she can never avoid her past and with this new drama programme on the telly she’s realised that living abroad might be a better option for her.
“She can probably get a job out there and enjoy a better life than always looking over her shoulder. She’s applied for a passport now and that’s the first step towards leaving the UK.”
The source claims that Karen Matthews now wants to move to Spain for part of the year, when there are fewer Brits there to recognise her.
“She said she could get a cleaning job and a small flat to rent and would feel far safer than in some town in England,” they continued to the tabloid.
Read more: Sheridan Smith now friends for life with woman she portrayed in The Moorside
“She said there are lots of holiday complexes out there where people own second homes and apartments and so there would be a ready supply of cleaning jobs.
“This is what she is now looking at trying to put in place again.”
Meanwhile The Sun has also reported that Shannon – now 18 years old – has been offered a tell-all book deal over her fake kidnapping ordeal at the hands of her mum Karen and Mick Donovan, the uncle of her former lover, Craig Meehan.