The feature-length drama will focus on Kate McCann’s interrogation
Under Suspicion: Kate McCann, the first-ever drama about the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, has finally confirmed its Channel 5 start date.
2026 has come out swinging with its dramas based on true stories. We’ve had The Lady, ITV’s series about Fergie’s killer ex-dresser. We’ve also had Dirty Business, Channel 4’s show about the UK’s sewage pollution scandal, and Believe Me, revolving around “Black Cab Rapist” John Worboys.
A limited-run series of two films based on true stories is coming to Channel 5 soon, marking “a bold new foray” for the broadcaster.
The first instalment will focus on Kate McCann, Madeleine’s mum – and you may recognise who’s playing her.
What is Under Suspicion: Kate McCann about?
Under Suspicion: Kate McCann (earlier titled Suspect) will focus on the McCann’s interrogation by Portuguese police in the wake of Madeleine’s disappearance.
Madeleine vanished in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3, 2007. She was on holiday with her parents, Kate and Gerry, her younger siblings, and family friends. She had been left alone with her siblings in a ground-floor apartment while Kate and Gerry dined with friends.
They checked on them every 30-40 minutes – but by 10pm, Madeleine was gone. It quickly became a worldwide news story, and it’s one of the most well-known cases in modern British history.
Three months after Madeleine’s disappearance, Kate was brought in for questioning.
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“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),” the synopsis reads.
“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.
“[The film] 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.”
When is Under Suspicion: Kate McCann out?
Under Suspicion: Kate McCann will air on Wednesday, May 20, at 9pm 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.
Tracie Andrews drama coming after Under Suspicion: Kate McCann
Yes, a second film will air on Channel 5 after Under Suspicion: Kate McCann.
It will focus on Tracie Andrews, who was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of her fiancé, Lee Raymond Dean Harvey, in December 1996.
While Andrews claimed he died in a road rage attack, she was soon accused of being responsible for his death.
“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 synopsis reads.
“The film charts the unravelling of her original narrative, the investigative shift that followed, and the consequences of that change in focus.”
We don’t know who’s playing Andrews, but the film will be directed by Grant Armour (Murderer Behind The Mask, Barrymore: The Rise and Fall of Mr Saturday Night).
