Laura Bayston plays the emotional role of Kate McCann in a new Channel 5 drama looking at how the mum of Madeleine McCann was interrogated by Portuguese police
Under Suspicion: Kate McCann will air on Channel 5(Image: CHANNEL 5)
The latest drama portrayal of the interrogation of Madeleine McCann’s mum by Portuguese police is sure to divide viewers, but there was one detail that really stuck with me. Under Suspicion: Kate McCann follows the efforts of police to claim Kate McCann had something to do with the disappearance of her daughter in 2007.
The heartbreaking case remains unsolved 19 years later and now 5 has released a factual drama looking at the treatment of Kate in Portugal. The story begins three months into the search to find Madeleine, who vanished from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve, Portugal in May 2007.
Kate and husband Gerry McCann were cleared of any wrongdoing in 2008 after they found themselves wrongly accused of a cover up. And now, as 5’s drama looks at official statements and recorded testimony, there is one brief moment in the drama that really hit me.
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And it’s not just me that was taken by a simple but effective and moving scene. When I spoke with actress Laura Bayston, who played the part of Kate in the production, she told me she had the same thought process.
The scene saw Kate snap back at her daughter being referred to as Maddie, insisting she is called by her correct full name, Madeleine.
Laura told me before the drama aired: “It’s something that I took away from it as well. I’ll give you that. Yeah. If they can’t respect that simplicity of a name, then that’s it.”
Laura brilliantly played the part of Kate – a decision she admitted she didn’t take lightly. And viewers will watch as brash Portuguese police interrogate the mother of a missing child.
In a shocking moment, she is even told to take a deal. “Just admit you killed Madeleine,” Kate is told, insisting if she does, her sentence won’t be too bad. And her lawyer tells her that it may only make things worse if she attempts to properly answer the police’s queries.
This leads to her reluctantly answering “no comment” to every question.
Throughout the 90-minute drama, I was reminded of particular lines of questioning and events from the hugely publicised case that gripped myself and many others at the time and still does to this day. But it also threw up a lot of surprising incidents which brings with it more questions.
Sadly, it’s perhaps likely that this drama, which Laura says is clearly made for the right reasons, will bring out conspiracy theorists who plague the case once again. With the focus on the police’s handling of Kate, a number of accusations and allegations are seen to be thrown at Kate in the production – including her actions and moves on the tragic night in question.
While Kate and husband Gerry were cleared of any wrongdoing, the intense scrutiny on their actions continues to lead to false allegations that continue to rear their head.
Despite this, the drama comes with a very important message for all to take away rather than criticise or scrutinise. At the heart of this whole thing, a girl remains still missing almost two decades on. And a family is seeking answers.
Under Suspicion: Kate McCann, airs Wednesday 20th May, 9pm on 5.
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