5 has confirmed when viewers can expect the first part of its new two-episode limited series, Suspect, to land.
Suspect: Kate McCann, which will delve into the “controversial interrogation” of Madeleine McCann’s mother, Kate McCann (played by Slow Horses star Laura Bayston), will premiere on Wednesday 20 May at 9pm on 5.
The feature-length drama is set to focus on Kate as she’s questioned by the Portuguese police during a dark period in July 2007 following the disappearance of her daughter, and becomes engulfed by a negative “global media narrative”.
The synopsis, courtesy of 5, recounts: “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).”
It continues: “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… It’s the story of every parent’s nightmare, somehow getting worse.”
The drama is based on official police material, documentary evidence, and recorded testimony.
5 has said it will highlight how “flawed evidence” led to the interrogation and created a “false legacy” that continued for many years after.
Portuguese police officially confirmed in 2008 that Kate and husband Gerry McCann, who had always denied any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance, were no longer suspects.
The anthology is set to continue with Suspect: The Road Rage Killer, which will focus on the case of Tracie Andrews (portrayed by former Hollyoaks star Emma Rigby), who was sentenced to life in prison after killing her fiancé, Lee Harvey.
A plot synopsis explains that Tracie “claimed her fiancé had been killed in a shocking road rage attack”.
“However, after a disastrous press conference, she found herself accused of murdering him. 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,” it continues.
“The film charts the unravelling of her original narrative, the investigative shift that followed, and the consequences of that change in focus.”
A release date for the second film in the anthology series is yet to be confirmed.
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Suspect: Kate McCann will premiere on Wednesday 20 May at 9pm on 5.
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