Mrs Bardsley was a marriage guidance councillor who arbitrated with Jim and Liz McDonald after their marriage hit the rocks. In February 1996, Jim and Liz had attended an army reunion where one of the other guests was Johnny Johnson, an old mate of Jim’s. However he found out that Johnny and Liz had had a fling some years before and, furious with her, hit her and dumped her by the roadside, driving off and leaving her.
Liz demanded a divorce and took possession of the house, changing the locks in the process but Jim smashed his way in and was arrested. After continuing to harass Liz, he was found guilty of violating his bail conditions and sent to Strangeways Jail for three weeks. Jim came out of the prison in a calmer frame of mind but soon afterwards his mother Maisie McDonald died and Liz demanded a share of the four thousand pounds she left him in her will as part of the divorce settlement. It was this latter demand that led to the arbitration failing when Liz riled Jim to the point where he walked out of the room.