As Crimewatch marks its 40th anniversary, some of the show’s former presenters have recalled the standout crimes and cases that have stayed with them over the decades.
Since 1984 Crimewatch, Crimewatch Roadshow and Crimewatch Live has broadcast over 700 programmes, featuring more than 7,000 police appeals involving every police force in the UK.
Launch presenter Nick Ross (1984-2007) says his standout memory is thinking the very first show had flopped - and also the horror of having to appeal for information following the murder of his co-host Jill Dando, 15 years later.
“On the first night we had a studio full of detectives waiting to pick up phones behind us and for a full twenty minutes absolutely nothing happened. It seemed we had a complete turkey on our hands,” he laughs now. “Only then, gradually one by one, did the phones begin to light up, until soon the lines were jammed.
“So many cases stand out for me but of course, none can compare with the tragic irony and horror of the programmes in 1999 when I found myself writing and presenting appeals about my co-presenter, Jill Dando.”
READ MORE: Crimewatch making comeback 40 years after first airing to reveal how cases were cracked
In April 1999, BBC presenter and journalist Jill Dando was shot dead on her doorstep with a single bullet in broad daylight. Twenty-five years on, despite one of the biggest, most high-profile murder investigations in British history, the case remains unsolved.
Fiona Bruce (2000 -2007) recalls joining in the aftermath of Jill’s death.
She says: ”I started presenting Crimewatch when the team were still dealing with the most terrible crime and one that was utterly personal to them all - the murder of Jill Dando. I followed on from her but never replaced her - no one could, she was someone truly special.”
The Antiques Roadshow star says that Jill’s death is one of many that have left their mark.
“The crimes that stay with me still are mainly the ones that affected women. Unspeakable violence and cruelty visited upon women who often didn’t survive it. We had a tremendous success rate - 1 in every 3 cases we featured resulted in an arrest - and that was what made the programme worth doing.
“Whenever one of the men who perpetrated those awful crimes was caught, it was a massive boost. I could probably still recite chapter and verse of quite a few of those crimes, I don’t think they’ll ever leave me.”
Kirsty Young (2008-2015) says her seven years on the programme was “often fascinating, sometimes nerve wracking and always a privilege”. She explains: “It felt good to be part of something that mattered and made a difference.”
Her standout cases also involve missing women and girls.
”In the autumn of 2013 Kate and Gerry McCann’s live appeal for their missing daughter Madeleine was a landmark moment. And interviewing Gemma Dowler, the sister of abducted and murdered schoolgirl Millie, was particularly significant.”
The case that sticks with her the most is Claudia Lawrence, the chef from York who went missing in 2009.
“It has always stayed with me. The case has never been solved and no trace of Claudia has ever been found. Her father’s pain and desire for answers was etched in his face as we spoke.”
Matthew Amroliwala (2008-2015) believes the show’s success lies in its attention to detail.
“I used to film a section called ‘How they Caught’ which showed viewers how the police cracked a case and was so often incredible in terms of the detail.
In one case, the perpetrator’s alibi was cracked because the police proved his timeline was fake. They unravelled the timeline after a detective noticed in one of the still photographs of the crime scene, a drip coming from the kitchen tap. The suspect had used the tap. The police then calculated how long it would have taken for the sink to have filled up to the level they found it - one drop at a time - and realised that that didn’t match the timeframe the suspect had claimed. Incredible.”
Sian Lloyd (2013-2015) says the case that left its mark on her was that of Georgia Williams, a teenager from Shropshire who had disappeared from her hometown of Wellington.
“We were able to share important information on Crimewatch. It was shortly after this appeal that Georgia’s body was found in woodland in north Wales. Jamie Reynolds was later convicted of her murder and sentenced to a whole life term. It was a very disturbing case and was such a huge loss for Georgia’s family, which I will never forget.”
Current host Rav Wilding says he is proud of the part he’s played in the show over the past two decades.
"It’s a brilliant programme to be part of for the last 20 years, and to be a small cog in a huge crime fighting wheel is an honour. I love the fact that 40 years on it’s still solving crimes and helping victims get some closure - often after many years of suffering.”
His co-presenter Michelle Ackerley agrees that working on the show is a privilege. “To think back on the list of presenters that have come before me on this show is really humbling but most importantly to see what an impact the show has had over the years - working alongside the emergency services - really is incredible. I hope it continues for another 40.”
Police Chief Superintendent and Crimewatch presenter David Hatcher said the programme’s legacy in helping to solve serious crimes cannot be understated.
“It truly changed the mindset of policing and police officers in a way that I hadn’t foreseen being possible. While on the one hand change is continual in policing, the programme produced an attitudinal change among officers that would otherwise have taken decades to achieve. For that reason, the legacy of the programme is genuinely mind blowing.”
He agrees with Ross that the loss of Dando is his standout memory. “In stark contrast to all the good that Crimewatch achieved, sadly it’s the loss of our fellow presenter Jill Dando that remains the most poignant and frustrating element of my experience on the programme.
Crimewatch Live returns to BBC1 at 10.45am on Monday 30 September
