A new documentary about the murder of Jill Dando will feature previously unseen material in a bid to tell the full story behind one of Britain’s most high-profile unsolved killings, the BBC has said.
The programme will mark the 20th anniversary of the death of the Crimewatch presenter and will feature interviews with detectives, Dando’s colleagues, friends and close family as well as previously unseen archive and photographs.
The film will go behind the headlines and speculation to offer unique insights into Dando’s life and the hunt for her murderer, according to the BBC.
Dando was one of the country’s best known television presenters and newsreaders when she was shot and killed on her doorstep in the middle of the day in April 1999.
Her killing featured on Crimewatch a month after she was shot and as a result of the calls made to the programme, the police were led on a new line of inquiry which resulted in the arrest of Barry George.
George was wrongly convicted of the killing and acquitted in 2008.
The one-hour film, with the working title The Murder Of Jill Dando, will explore whether Dando’s celebrity status hindered the chances of her murder being solved and whether the intense scrutiny on the investigation hampered detectives as they worked to deliver answers.
David Brindley, head of commissioning of popular factual and factual entertainment at the BBC, said: “Jill was one of the BBC’s most talented and well-loved presenters.
“Her death sent shockwaves through the country and sparked one of the biggest investigations the Metropolitan Police had ever launched.
“Twenty years on, with the crime still unsolved, this film will reveal in detail the process of that investigation from those who were closest to it.”