McCanns TV drama is a no-go

MADELEINE McCann’s disappearance could never be turned into a TV drama, according to a top screenwriter.

Next week will mark a decade since she went missing while on a family holiday in Praia da Luz in Portugal.

The world has been gripped by the ongoing hunt for the girl and the bravery of her parents Kate and Gerry.

But Jeff Pope, the man behind TV drama Little Boy Blue – based on the killing of Rhys Jones – says he would not turn it into a series. He told the Daily Star Sunday: “There are always things that me and my team are looking at.

“But the Maddie story is not something we’re looking at doing because I don’t think it’s over yet. There seems to be an unanswerable question at the core of it.

“Where is she? What happened to her? She might still be alive. It’s awful. I feel such sympathy for her parents.”

Earlier this year more than 10million people watched BBC drama The Moorside, based on the disappearance of Shannon Matthews in 2008. Over the years Jeff has turned a string of real-life stories into film and TV dramas, including the Moors murders.

And shows about fictitious crimes, including Broadchurch, Line of Duty and The Missing, pull in ratings.

Jeff said: “Crime has always played a massive part in the schedule and it always will because that’s where you see extremes of behaviour.”

Although Little Boy Blue comes hot on the heels of Broadchurch’s final episode last week, Jeff said it is “a very different piece”. He added: “I don’t look at this show as a crime drama.

“It’s more of an emotional journey.

“I’d like a lot of people to see it because it’s important that we explore these big stories that affect our lives.

“I think in the end we put our heart and soul into it and you have to say to yourself, ‘we’ve made these four hours of drama as good as they possibly can be’ and then we just hope that people connect with it.”