Beeb marks 40 years of Crimewatch

A programme the ‘public service broadcaster’ should still be showing in primetime…

The main show may have been axed from its monthly primetime slot, but the daytime spin-off continues to catch criminals thanks to viewer assistance.

Now ahead of a brand-new series of Crimewatch Live presented by Rav Wilding and Michelle Ackerley starting on BBC One on Monday 30th September, the Beeb is marking 40 years of the criminal catching series.

Over its 40-year history Crimewatch, Crimewatch Roadshow and Crimewatch Live has broadcast over 700 programmes, featuring more than 7000 police appeals involving every police force in the UK and bringing criminals to justice with the help of the public.

A key element of Crimewatch has been its on screen appeals and reconstructions featuring some of the UK’s most high profile cases, including the murder of Julie Dart (1991) and the Stephanie Slater kidnapping (1992), the murder of James Bulger (1993), the Lin and Megan Russell murders (1996), the murder of Sarah Payne (2000), the M25 sex attacker (2002) and the murder of 7-year-old Toni-Ann Byfield (2005).

Julie Shaw, Commissioning Editor for BBC Daytime:

“Crimewatch is not just another crime series, it sits at the heart of what public service broadcasting at its best can do. Throughout its 40-year history, the team have built unprecedented trust with the country’s police forces and the public, providing an outlet to help catch the country’s most audacious criminals.”

One of the most difficult appeals for the programme team was following the murder of Crimewatch and BBC News presenter Jill Dando in 1999, the case remains unsolved.

Original hosts Nick Ross and Sue Cook

Michelle Cox, Executive Producer, BBC Studios Documentary Unit:

“We’re extremely proud to be marking 40 years of such a landmark programme, the legacy and continued results we get each series make it an incredibly special programme to be part of. The ability to give victims and their families a place to tell their stories through our sensitively produced films, and to actually yield results is a testament to the long-lasting respect the public have for the programme.”

Crimewatch has featured a roll-call of presenters over its four decades from launch presenters Nick Ross and Sue Cook to Kirsty Young, Matthew Amroliwala, Fiona Bruce, Sian Lloyd, Jeremy Vine and the late Jill Dando, including on screen police officers David Hatcher and Jacqui Hames.

The new series of Crimewatch Live presented by Rav Wilding and Michelle Ackerley starts next Monday at 10.45am, broadcasting live from its Cardiff studios over three weeks. Crimewatch Live will once again appeal to viewers to help crimefighters crack some of the UK’s biggest unsolved cases. Audiences can contact the show by phoning 08000 468 999, with phone lines remaining open an hour after the show finishes.

In addition to Crimewatch Live, a brand-new series Crimewatch Caught is set to reveal the inner workings of how detectives investigated and solved a range of complex crimes. Each episode will feature exclusive interviews with leading officers, alongside the crucial CCTV, forensic evidence and witness testimony that allowed them to bring the perpetrators to justice.