A new Channel 5 TV docudrama is set to depict the interrogation of Madeleine McCann’s mother Kate by Portuguese police.
Suspect: The McCanns follows Kate’s cross-examination by detectives investigating the disappearance of her daughter Madeleine, and explores lesser-known events from that globally-renowned period.
Madeleine was three when she vanished in May 2007 from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve, Portugal.
Her parents Kate and Gerry McCann had been dining at a nearby restaurant mere metres away.
When they returned to check on their three children, they discovered Madeleine was missing.
Now, 19 years on, she would be 22 – and remains missing.
Killing Eve star Laura Bayston, 47, plays Kate in the factual drama, which is due to air later this year.
Directed by Paula Wittig, the series draws on official police material, documentary evidence and recorded testimony to present an alternative perspective on the case and its handling.
Suspect: The McCanns follows Kate’s cross-examination by detectives investigating the disappearance of her daughter Madeleine, and explores lesser-known events from that period
Killing Eve star Laura Bayston, 47, plays Kate in the factual drama, which is due to air later this year
Portuguese inspector Ricardo Paiva, played by Miguel Freire, is pictured interrogating Kate
The series focuses on real events in July 2007, two months after Madeleine’s disappearance, when Kate was called in for questioning by Portuguese police
Kate sits next to interpreter Armanda Duarte Salbany Russell, played by Joana Borja, as she is questioned by Portuguese police
The 90-minute 5 drama charts the shift in public opinion against the McCanns after police allegedly leaked unsubstantiated evidence to the press, leading to the couple being named as suspects.
It focuses on real events in July 2007, two months after Madeleine’s disappearance, when Kate was called in for questioning by Portuguese police.
She was held for 11 hours of interrogation before being named an ‘arguida’ – a formal suspect.
The status, also given to her husband Gerry, was lifted in July the following year.
The synopsis of the drama reads: ‘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 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.’
Pictured: Madeleine McCann, who disappeared while on holiday with her family in Portugal in 2007
Pictured: Kate and Gerry McCann held up an image of what Madeleine might look like as an older girl at a press conference in London in May 2012
The drama comes after UK police were granted further funding in March to continue investigating Madeleine’s disappearance, albeit with a reduced budget.
The Metropolitan Police received £86,000 for Operation Grange for 2026/2027, a drop from £108,000 in the previous year.
The total cost of the missing persons inquiry has now reached around £13.3million since its launch 15 years ago in 2011.
Prime suspect and convicted rapist Christian Brueckner was released last September after serving a prison sentence in his native Germany.
He has never been charged with any crimes in connection with Madeleine’s disappearance.
Operation Grange currently consists of three police officers and one member of police staff who work on a part-time basis.
Meanwhile Julia Wandelt, then 24, was found guilty of harassing the McCann’s last year after claiming she was Madeleine.
The Polish woman was convicted in November 2025 at Leicester Crown Court. She was not found guilty of stalking.
Wandelt (pictured) sobbed as she was found not guilty of stalking the McCanns for almost three years
Her friend and ‘supporter’ Karen Spragg, 61, was also cleared of stalking following the five-week trial.
Wandelt was accused of stalking the McCanns for nearly three years.
She repeatedly called them, sent messages, left voicemails and turned up to their home demanding a DNA test after claiming she was their missing daughter.
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Her barrister claimed she was ‘vulnerable’ and her behaviour was that of a ‘rather sad and pathetic young woman’ acting out of ‘desperation’ because she believed her parents had lied about who she was.
The court was told a deportation order had already been served against Wandelt, and that it was a matter for the Secretary of State whether she remained in custody.
The judge handed restraining orders to both women. Wandelt was sentenced to six months.
In a statement released after the trial, Kate and Gerry said: ‘Despite the jury’s guilty verdict of harassment, we take no pleasure in the result.
‘Like most people, we did not want to go through the court process and only wanted the harassment to stop.
‘The decision to prosecute was taken by the Crown Prosecution Service, based on the evidence gathered by the police.
‘We hope Ms Wandelt will receive the appropriate care and support she needs and any vulnerability will not be exploited by others.
‘If anyone has new evidence relating to Madeleine’s disappearance, please pass this on to the police.’
