Anatomy of Lies tells the wild true story of Elisabeth Finch, a writer on Grey’s Anatomy who was outed for lying about a string of illnesses, including cancer, during her tenure on the show.

Long wanting a job on the popular medical series, Finch caught the attention of Shonda Rhimes in 2014 when she wrote about having a rare form of bone cancer called chondrosarcoma in Elle Magazine. She was hired for the show’s writer’s room the following year.

In the years that followed, Finch helped create multiple plot lines present in much-loved Grey’s episodes and plots, with character Catherine Avery later being diagnosed with the same rare cancer, earning her consulting producer credits and promotions in the process.

She also wrote pieces for esteemed publications about other aspects of her life – including claims that she had an abortion while having cancer and that she needed a kidney transplant (later alleging that True Blood star Anna Paquin had offered to give her one of hers).

In 2018, she also made claims that she lost friends in the devastating Tree of Life synagogue mass shooting, taking days away from the show in order to “help the relief effort”.

None of this was true.

Across the years, Finch would continue to make multiple other claims about her life, with members of the Grey’s team oblivious to the fact she was lying. She would shave her head, take regular bathroom breaks to be sick, and even “had a green hue” which all indicated how sick she was.

She later checked into a mental health treatment centre in 2019, where she met wife, Jennifer Beyer. Jennifer had checked into treatment for PTSD after an abusive relationship, would discover the truth after they had moved in together and got married.

Over time, she realised Finch was missing a chemotherapy port scar, and that elements of her real story bore similarities to that on Grey’s Anatomy, including character Jo Wilson’s recovery after escaping an abusive relationship.

When Finch told her the truth but attempted to keep her quiet, Jennifer sent an email to the Grey’s team in 2022, exposing her lies and bringing the truth to light.

The story later became an exposé in Vanity Fair called ‘Scene Stealer’ in August 2022.

Elisabeth has five major credits to her name as a writer.

These are:

• Looking For My Brother (a short film)

• True Blood (writing for 1x season two episode, and 2x season three episodes)

• No Ordinary Family (writing for two episodes)

• The Vampire Diaries (writing for 22 episodes across seasons three, four and five)

• Grey’s Anatomy (writing 13 episodes across seasons 11 to 17)

Grey’s Anatomy was her most notable job as, on top of writing, she has credits for consulting producer, co-executive producer, and supervising producer, totalling 172 episodes.

She has not worked on another show since the scandal broke.

Sky has officially rated Anatomy of Lies a 15 - meaning it is considered inappropriate for young children and early teenagers.

The programme contains:

• Discussions on cancer

• Shows events in relation to a terrorist incident

• Contains themes of an adult nature - including discussions of abuse

All episodes of Anatomy of Lies are available to watch on Sky Documentaries.

It is also available to stream on NOW.

In the US, the documentary series is available to watch on Peacock.