Kate and Gerry McCann have expressed disappointment that they were not consulted during the production of a new true crime drama about the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine McCann. The Channel 5 programme, titled Under Suspicion: Kate McCann, depicts Madeleine's mother being treated as a suspect in the investigation that followed her disappearance from a holiday apartment in Lagos, Portugal, in May 2007.
In a statement released on the Find Madeleine Campaign website, the McCanns said they had “no involvement whatsoever” in the creation of the show and were not asked for their consent. They criticised such programmes for having a “negative impact” on their family as they continue to grieve Madeleine’s disappearance.
The drama, which aired on Wednesday, May 20, stars Laura Bayston, known for her role in Slow Horses, as Kate McCann. It is based on official police material, documentary evidence and recorded testimony, and dramatises Kate’s interrogation by Portuguese police, who treated her and her husband Gerry as suspects for 10 months between September 2007 and July 2008.
Madeleine McCann was three years old when she vanished from the family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007. She had been left asleep with her twin siblings while her parents dined nearby. The case remains unsolved, and the McCanns continue to campaign for information that might lead to her whereabouts.
