Madeleine McCann's parents slam new Channel 5 drama about disapperance
Kate and Gerry McCann said they were not consulted over the dramatisation of their time as suspects in the case of their daughter's 2007 disappearance
The parents of Madeleine McCann have said they are “disappointed” that a new true crime drama about their daughter’s disappearance was made without them being consulted or asked for consent.
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Kate and Gerry McCann said they “had no involvement whatsoever” in the making of Channel 5’s Under Suspicion: Kate McCann, which depicts Madeleine’s mother being treated as a suspect during the investigation into her disappearance in May 2007.
The drama starring Slow Horses actress Laura Bayston in the lead role of Kate McCann aired on Wednesday.
In a statement on the same day, Kate and Gerry raised concerns over the “negative impact” such programmes have on their family as they continue to grieve Madeleine’s disappearance 19 years on.
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“Thank you to everyone who has offered support & kindness this month,” they wrote on the Find Madeleine Campaign website.
“May is never the easiest. We usually start to feel a bit ‘lighter’ at this stage of the month.
“We are disappointed however, knowing that a Channel 5 ‘docu-drama’ will air tonight.
“We have not given, or been asked for, our consent and have had no involvement whatsoever in its making.
"We fail to see how it will help.
“Programmes like this, always have a negative impact on our family.”
The statement, which was also posted on the official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook page, was signed “Kate, Gerry & Family”.
A spokesperson for Channel 5 acknowledged the sensitivity of the drama’s subject matter, but said the production team had “worked carefully to ensure accuracy, restraint and fairness”.
"We informed the McCann family of both the production and the transmission date,” a Channel 5 spokesperson said on Wednesday.
“The film is grounded in source material, including official police documents, interview transcripts, court records, and publicly available accounts.
“The production team worked carefully to ensure accuracy, restraint and fairness, particularly given the sensitivity of the subject matter.”
Madeleine McCann was three when she went missing from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in southern Portugal on May 3 2007, shortly before her birthday.
Portuguese detectives made Kate and her husband Gerry suspects or “arguidos” that September, before lifting the status in July the following year.
The new Channel 5 drama focuses on Kate’s interrogation by officers and is based on official police material, documentary evidence and recorded testimony.
The 90-minute film is written by award-winning screenwriter and playwright Philip Ralph, and directed by Paula Wittig, who previously directed Black Widow.