5 is to be the home of two true crime dramas from Dan Grabiner’s Orchard Studios, focussing on Madeleine McCann’s mother, Kate McCann, and the case of Tracie Andrews.
Suspect: Kate McCann, directed by Paula Wittig (Black Widow, Sharon & Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home, Andrew: The Problem Prince) is based on official police material, documentary evidence and recorded testimony. The 90-minute film is written by award-winning British screenwriter and playwright Philip Ralph (Einstein And The Bomb, 8 Days: To The Moon And Back) and explores the period when flawed evidence against the McCanns was released to the press, changing the global media narrative and creating a false legacy on social media that persists to this day.
Kate McCann is played by Laura Bayston.
Commissioning Editor 5, Dan Louw said: “This fantastic film goes where the cameras couldn’t – behind the closed doors of the interview room – to create a deeply moving drama from documentary evidence. ‘Suspect: Kate McCann’ is one of the most tense, moving and shocking films you will see this year. I cannot praise the writing, directing and acting enough – especially a star-making turn from Laura Bayston as Kate McCann.”
Suspect: The Road Rage Killer (w/t) – examines the case of Tracie Andrews, who claimed her fiancé had been killed in a shocking road rage attack. 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. The film charts the unravelling of her original narrative, the investigative shift that followed, and the consequences of that change in focus.
Directed by Grant Armour (Murderer Behind The Mask, Barrymore: The Rise and Fall of Mr Saturday Night, Manhunt: The Phantom Cop Killer), this tense drama follows Tracie’s transformation from victim to suspect and explores how truth fractures under pressure. Tracie Andrews is played by Emma Rigby.
Nat Lippiett, Orchard Studios, Head of Programmes and Executive Producer, Suspect added: “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.”
Jon Creamer
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