Under Suspicion: Kate McCann, a “shocking” new true crime drama coming to Channel 5, will dramatise the Madeleine McCann case for the first time.
2026 has already delivered a string of fact-based dramas – from The Lady, ITV’s series about Fergie’s former dresser, to Channel 4’s Dirty Business and ITV’s Believe Me.
Now Channel 5 is entering the arena with a limited run of two feature-length films based on real cases – and the first focuses on Kate McCann.
What is Under Suspicion: Kate McCann about?
Under Suspicion: Kate McCann centres on the 48-hour period in which Kate McCann was interrogated by Portuguese police following her daughter’s disappearance.
Madeleine McCann vanished in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3, 2007. She had been left asleep in a holiday apartment with her siblings while her parents, Kate McCann and Gerry McCann, dined nearby with friends, checking periodically.
By 10pm, she was gone. Three months later, Kate was questioned by police and warned she would be considered an ‘arguida’ (a formal suspect).
According to the synopsis, what began as routine questioning “quickly turned hostile”. Detectives allegedly told her they had evidence linking her to Madeleine’s disappearance and suggested she could face murder charges if she did not confess.
The film focuses on that intense 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,” the synopsis adds.
When will it air?
Under Suspicion: Kate McCann will air at 9pm on Wednesday, May 20, on Channel 5.
Nat Lippiett, head of programmes for Orchard Studios, said: “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.”
Who is playing Kate McCann?
Laura Bayston will play Kate McCann, praised by Channel 5 as a “raw and visceral performance”.
The actress may look familiar. She played Babs in Killing Eve season 2, and she’s also appeared in Slow Horses, Doctors, and Casualty.
Dan Louw, Channel 5’s commissioning editor, said: “I cannot praise the writing, directing, and acting enough. Especially a star-making turn from Laura Bayston as Kate McCann.”
The cast also includes:
- Ruby Ranson as Madeleine McCann
- James Robinson as Gerry McCann
- Miguel Freire as Inspector Ricardo Paiva
- Hugo Nicolau as Inspector João Carlos
- Joana Borja as Armanda Duarte Salbany Russell
- Carlos Agualusa as Carlos Pinto De Abreu
- Claudia Sermbezis and Dominic Reynolds as News Reporters
- Juan Jimenez Menendez, Salvatore Cammarata, George Hardaker, and Ömer Warman as PJ Officers
Under Suspicion: Kate McCann will also be directed by Paula Wittig. She earlier made Sharon & Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home.
The script has been penned by Philip Ralph, a screenwriter and playwright who earlier wrote Einstein and the Bomb, and 8 Days: To the Moon and Back. The 90-minute film is based on official police material, documentary evidence, and recorded testimony.
What is the second film about?
The second instalment will focus on Tracie Andrews, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the 1996 murder of her fiancé, Lee Raymond Dean Harvey.
Andrews initially claimed he had been killed in a road rage attack. Detectives later dismantled her account, and she was convicted. The film will chart the shift in the investigation and how Andrews went from key witness to prime suspect.
It will be directed by Grant Armour.
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Under Suspicion: Kate McCann premieres on May 20.
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