SUSPECT: CHANNEL 5 ANNOUNCES NEW FACTUAL DRAMA STRAND, INCLUDING FOCUS ON KATE McCANN

As part of a limited-run series, 5 has commissioned Orchard Studios to make a feature-length factual drama focusing on a little-known episode in one of the most talked-about cases in British history.

In July 2007, three months after the disappearance of her daughter, Kate McCann was brought in for questioning by Portuguese police. What started innocently enough quickly turned hostile - police told Kate that they no longer believed her and would be considering her an ‘arguida’ (formal suspect).

Detectives told her they had evidence that would prove her involvement in the disappearance, and that if she didn’t confess she would face murder charges. Suspect: Kate McCann (wt) focuses on an extraordinary and tense 48-hour period that threatened to halt the search for Madeleine, and which left the McCanns fighting for their freedom. It’s the story of every parent’s nightmare, somehow getting worse.   

Directed by Paula Wittig (Black Widow, Sharon & Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home), Suspect: Kate McCann is based on official police material, documentary evidence and recorded testimony.

The 90-minute film is written by award-winning British screenwriter and playwright Philip Ralph (Einstein And The Bomb, 8 Days: To The Moon And Back) and explores the period when flawed evidence against the McCanns was released to the press, changing the global media narrative and creating a false legacy on social media that persists to this day.

Suspect: Kate McCann (wt) stars Laura Bayston (Killing Eve, Slow Horses, Doctors) in the lead role as Kate McCann, a raw and visceral performance of a mother having to maintain her faith that her daughter will be found despite extraordinary challenges.

It is the first in a limited-run series that will shed new light on pivotal moments in high-profile criminal investigations, at the moment when the victims themselves become the prime suspects.

The second film – Suspect: The Road Rage Killer (wt) - examines the case of Tracie Andrews, who claimed her fiance had been killed in a shocking road rage attack. However, after a disastrous press conference, she found herself accused of murdering him.

Detectives revisited timelines, cross-checked statements, and tested forensic evidence and slowly, the woman who entered the station as a witness found herself at the centre of suspicion. The film charts the unravelling of her original narrative, the investigative shift that followed, and the consequences of that change in focus.

Starring Emma Rigby as Tracie Andrews, Suspect: The Road Rage Killer (wt) is a gripping psychological crime thriller told through first-hand accounts, police records, archive transcripts and reconstructed memories. Directed by Grant Armour (Murderer Behind The Mask, Barrymore: The Rise and Fall of Mr Saturday Night, Manhunt: The Phantom Cop Killer), this tense drama follows Tracie’s transformation from victim to suspect and explores how truth fractures under pressure. It’s the story of how one woman’s need for love and attention turned into delusion, control and violence.

Suspect marks a bold new foray into factual drama for both Orchard Studios and 5 – combining the storytelling of great drama with integral documentary detail. The commission reflects a shared ambition to develop the format further, with the potential for additional standalone scripted films examining other high-profile true crime cases.

Commissioning Editor 5, Dan Louw said: “This fantastic film goes where the cameras couldn’t – behind the closed doors of the interview room – to create a deeply moving drama from documentary evidence.  ‘Suspect: Kate McCann’ is one of the most tense, moving and shocking films you will see this year. I cannot praise the writing, directing and acting enough – especially a star-making turn from Laura Bayston as Kate McCann.”

Nat Lippiett, Orchard Studios, Head of Programmes and Executive Producer, Suspect added: “You might think you know these stories, but these powerful, meticulously researched dramas will surprise viewers by shedding light on the lesser-known moments in these iconic crime cases.”

Both films will air later this year.