The interrogation conducted by Portugal’s Judicial Police of Madeleine McCann’s mother following her daughter’s disappearance in Praia da Luz in 2007 forms the central focus of a new film set to air on Channel 5 next week.
Titled Under Suspicion: Kate McCann, the film revisits a pivotal moment in the Algarve’s most infamous investigation, three months after the disappearance of the three-year-old British child, when Portuguese authorities began to regard her parents as suspects.
Based on official interrogation records from the police station in Portimão, the production offers a detailed reconstruction of how Kate McCann was questioned by the region’s Judicial Police in what is portrayed as an accusatory atmosphere, coinciding with the release of alleged incriminating forensic evidence. According to the programme synopsis, investigators were facing mounting international media pressure and intense public scrutiny amid a lack of concrete leads, substantial evidence, or arrests.
The narrative retells the lengthy questioning, which extended over several hours, and the dilemma faced by McCann as she balanced cooperation with investigators against the need to protect her legal position should she be formally named a suspect. The film suggests that the prospect of being charged raised concerns that the investigation might shift away from the search for Madeleine, who has never been found.
The reconstruction also examines the role of the Portuguese authorities and the controversy surrounding one of the most high-profile criminal investigations of recent decades.
The 90-minute film concludes with the final interrogation conducted by the Algarve’s detectives, during which McCann, acting on legal advice, chose to respond “no comment”. Described as a “factual drama”, the programme is scheduled to be broadcast on Channel 5 on Wednesday, 20th May.
British actress Laura Bayston stars as Kate McCann, alongside Portuguese actors Joana Borja, Hugo Nicolau, Miguel Freire, and Carlos Agualusa.
In comments provided by the broadcaster, screenwriter Philip Ralph spoke about the challenges of dramatising interrogation notes written by PJ investigators. “The greatest challenge was creating dialogue that accurately reflected the questions posed by the Portuguese police and the direction of the inquiry, while ensuring Kate’s responses remained faithful to the official record and the known facts of the case,” he said.
Ralph said he had been struck by what he described as “extraordinary” accusations directed at the parents, based on “highly questionable evidence”, though the film deliberately avoids analysing competing claims surrounding the case. “By approaching the story through the specific lens of these interviews, I wanted to strip away the noise and focus closely on what actually happened in that room, during those days, between Kate McCann and the PJ officers,” he explained.
He added that the film aims to provide “a much-needed antidote to the hyperbole and conspiracy theories that have haunted this story for nearly 20 years”.
