TRUST BETRAYED
IN FEBRUARY 2008, nine-year-old Shannon Matthews went missing from the Moorside Estate in Dewsbury. She was discovered 24 days later in the home of Michael Donovan, who was subsequently jailed – along with Shannon’s mother Karen – for kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice.
It was a story that shocked Britain, but its impact was felt most strongly in Moorside, where a group of women had rallied the local community to find Shannon, only to learn that her disappearance was a sham and that her mother had known where she was all along.
And it’s their experiences that are at the heart of this new two-part drama.
Jeff Pope, executive producer of ITV Studios, which made the drama, says: “At the time, the country held its breath when Shannon went missing. When she was found, the people of Moorside led the celebrations.
The committed and passionate search mounted by local people had seemed to sweep away all the cliches and prejudices about estates like Moorside.
“But when the truth about what had happened was revealed, the sense of betrayal and bitter recriminations that followed threatened to submerge the estate. This truthful, unvarnished drama will take us inside the eye of the storm.”
It’s a sensitive subject, but the team behind The Moorside are used to handling difficult stories – they also made the acclaimed Appropriate Adult, which explored the Fred West case.
And the cast is led by Sheridan Smith, who plays the chairwoman of the Moorside Residents Association, and has previously starred in such true-life dramas as The C Word, Mrs Biggs and Cilla.
Sheridan says: “The story is a fascinating mixture of what I thought I knew and a whole lot more that I had no idea about.
“The themes of faith and trust in human nature, and the way the whole community came together really inspired me.”
In the opening episode, the police launch a search for Shannon, but when no trace can be found, the investigation takes on the scale of a murder inquiry.
When Karen’s (Gemma Whelan) emotional public appeals for information amount to nothing, the community, led by Julie (Smith), stand by her and make their own extraordinary efforts to find Shannon.
However, some of the Moorside residents are beginning to experience doubts – including Natalie (Sian Brooke), who struggles with her conscience when she becomes convinced that Karen knows more than she is letting on.
But then Shannon is found alive, and it seems all misgivings can be put aside as the community comes together to celebrate – until it emerges that Shannon was being held by a man known to her mother.
It sounds bleak, but writer Neil McKay echoes Sheridan in seeing something inspiring in the community’s efforts.
“This drama tells a story of people pulling together for the sake of a child.
“In a world where all too often our estates are written off, this drama challenges us to think again about this.
“We hope the drama will have something to say not only about this community, caught up in the events unfolding on their doorstep, but about our wider society too.”