Madeleine McCann’s parents have hit out at a new Channel 5 true crime drama about their daughter’s disappearance claiming it has had a ‘negative impact’ on their family.
Channel 5’s Under Suspicion: Kate McCann – starring Slow Horses actress Laura Bayston in the lead role of Kate McCann – depicts Madeleine’s mother being cross-examined by police during the initial investigation into her disappearance in May 2007.
The controversial drama, which aired last night, has been heavily criticised by Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry McCann who stressed they ‘had no involvement whatsoever’.
In a statement on Wednesday, Mr and Mrs McCann raised concerns over the ‘negative impact’ such programmes have on their family as they continue to grieve Madeleine’s disappearance 19 years after she vanished while on holiday at the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz.
They also added they were ‘disappointed’ in the new drama.
Writing on the Find Madeleine Campaign website, the couple said: ‘Thank you to everyone who has offered support & kindness this month. 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.’
Kate and Gerry McCann (both pictured) have criticised a new Channel 5 drama about the disappearance of their daughter stressing they ‘had no involvement whatsoever’ in the show
A photo of Madeleine McCann taken on May 3, 2027 – the day she vanished from a Portuguese holiday resort
Channel 5’s Under Suspicion: Kate McCann – starring Slow Horses actress Laura Bayston (pictured) in the lead role of Kate McCann – depicts Madeleine’s mother being cross-examined by police during the initial investigation into her disappearance in May 2007
The couple ended their statement by stressing they failed to see how the show will help.
‘Programmes like this, always have a negative impact on our family,’ they added.
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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 was three when she went missing from her family’s holiday apartment in the Algarve while her parents were dining at a nearby restaurant mere metres away.
Portuguese detectives made Mr McCann and Mrs McCann suspects or ‘arguidos’ that September, before lifting the status in July the following year.
Laura Bayston as Kate McCann in new Channel 5 drama. Ms Bayston – who bears a remarkable likeness to Mrs McCann – has previously had small parts in Killing Eve and Slow Horses, but this role is the biggest of her career so far
At just five-years-old, child actress Ruby Ranson is taking on the role of Britain’s most famous missing person
The 90-minute film, written by award-winning screenwriter and playwright Philip Ralph and directed by Paula Wittig, draws on official police material, documentary evidence and recorded testimony to present an alternative perspective on the case and its handling.
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Speaking ahead of its release, Ms Bayston said the hardest scene to film was police offering the deal if she admitted killing Madeleine, describing it as ‘truly horrific and an absolute punch in the guts’.
The actress added that she had two children who were a similar age at the time of the British girl’s disappearance in Portugal 19 years ago, which left her ‘terrified’.
Ms Bayston – who bears a remarkable likeness to Mrs McCann – has previously had small parts in Killing Eve and Slow Horses, but this role is the biggest of her career so far.
Asked about the hardest scene to film emotionally, she said: ‘It was all emotional, but when Kate is presented with her offer by the police, which is to admit guilt…
‘That was truly horrific and an absolute punch in the guts to film. It was hard to rein in the emotions for that one – a mix of utter despair to white rage and back again.’
Child actress Ruby Ranson is taking on the role of Britain’s most famous missing person.
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 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.
The Met Police are hoping to extradite Brueckner to the UK but that looks unlikely to happen as German law forbids extradition of its citizens to non-EU countries.
