Overview
- The one-off, 90-minute factual drama premiered on Wednesday, May 20, and reconstructs the Portuguese Policia Judiciaria’s interrogation of Kate McCann three months after Madeleine’s disappearance using police material and testimony.
- Kate and Gerry McCann issued a statement saying they were ‘disappointed’, had not been consulted or asked for consent, and warned such programmes have a negative impact on their family.
- Channel 5 responded that the production informed the McCann family of the project and transmission date and said the team sought ‘accuracy, restraint and fairness’, creating a direct dispute over the family’s involvement.
- Writer Philip Ralph and producers say the script was built from PJ handwritten notes and translated testimony because the original interviews were not audio recorded, a fact that shapes questions about how closely dramatised dialogue matches the official record.
- Audience reaction was mixed with notable social media criticism and viewers switching off, and the programme reopened wider context about the long, unresolved case including the McCanns’ past suspect status and German prosecutors naming Christian Brückner as a prime suspect in 2020.