Murder Island | Series Preview (Channel 4)

A body has been discovered and a murder investigation has begun. But this is no ordinary murder; it's a murder mystery written by Ian Rankin, one of Britain's most successful crime writers.

Trying to unpick his plot and solve the crime are eight ordinary members of the public who believe they have what it takes to find the murderer and win the £50,000 reward.

In this genre-bending crime reality format that blends factual, drama and competition, the four teams of amateur detectives arrive on an island by boat, greeted by senior investigating officerParm Sandhu and her two deputies, Simon Harding and Graham McMillan (Maca).

They are whisked off to the crime scene, the Manse, where the body of Charly Hendricks was discovered a few hours earlier. The Manse is an old, rundown property that Charly had been renting from the local pub landlord Tony Slade.

A murder investigation begins. Among the blood and forensics are the clues to understanding the victim and her lifestyle. Simon and Maca remind the sleuths of an old police saying: if you can discover how a victim lived it will help you to find out how they died. As each team searches the scene, they find evidence of a land dispute.

The teams go straight from the crime scene to speak to the last people to see Charly alive but they soon discover that everyone seems to have something to hide. And just as they begin to understand the events of the night of the murder, new evidence lands that changes the way they must think about Charly, her life, and her death.

Murder Island begins Tuesday 5th October at 9:30pm on Channel 4.