'Woman Raised By Monkeys' Documentary Explores Extraordinary Claims Of 'Ordinary' Grandmother Marina Chapman

DOCUMENTARY: Was This Woman Really Raised By Monkeys?

Marina Chapman is just an ordinary, very pleasant, sweetly-mannered grandmother in her sixties, who lives in Bradford in the north of England.

Except... she claims to have been kidnapped in Colombia as a child and abandoned in the jungle, where she survived for five years living amongst a troupe of Capuchin monkeys. Until she was ‘rescued’ by hunters and sold to a brothel in Colombia.

Marina with her daughter, who accompanied her on her return to Colombia

"The happiest time was when the a monkey gently touched my shoulders with his fingers," she smiles. "He was playing with my hair. It was like somebody giving you a cuddle, it was a comfort."

"I wish I could remember more," she sighs, pleasantly.

Tonight sees the debut of a two-hour documentary exploring her extraordinary story, and investigating the veracity of her claims, through scientific and psychological means.

Obviously, there are doubters of this strange tale. "I don't get upset about that," she says calmly. "Many people believe me, and I'm happy with that. I wish I'd been able to write it down at the time, but I couldn't."

Marina and her daughter Vanessa have travelled back to Colombia to re-visit her fabled past for the film, and this is the first time Marina has returned. It’s also the first time she's undergone medical tests to try and get proof for her story.

What's been the benefit, if any, of this strange upbringing? "Monkeys work things out," she said. "There's a problem, they go away, think about and come back, with a solution. And I'm the same."

Watch the trailer below, and see what you think... is she telling the truth?

'The Woman Raised By Monkeys' premieres tonight exclusively on the National Geographic Channel at 9pm

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