Australia's Most Wanted

Australia's Most Wanted
Genre	Factual
Based on	America's Most Wanted
Presented by	Don Willesee (1988 pilot) Bryan Marshall (1989) Ann Sanders (1993) Sarah Henderson (1994) Roger Climpson (1997–1998) Hugh Riminton (1999) Kim Watkins (1999)
Voices of	Alastair Duncan
Country of origin	Australia
Original language	English
No. of seasons	6 (Seven Network) 1 (Channel Nine)
Production
Running time	60 minutes
Production company	Grundy Television
Original release
Network	Seven Network (1988–1989, 1993–1994, 1997–1998) Nine Network (1999)
Release	February 17, 1988 (1988-02-17) [1]  – November 22, 1999 (1999-11-22)
Related
Wanted (2013)

Australia's Most Wanted is a television program based on the format made popular by America's Most Wanted . It was screened on the Seven Network as a regular series from 1989 until 1998. ^{[2] [3]}

History

The show was often in the headlines due to its graphic crime scene re-enactments which many deemed too distressing for the show's 7:30pm Monday timeslot. ^[4]

After the Seven Network cancelled the series in early 1999, the Nine Network created their own version of the format later that year. ^[5] It did not pull great ratings and was cancelled after nine episodes. In this version, two cases were shown per show and each were 24 minutes long with six ad breaks throughout and was broadcast from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm every Monday night from 6 September to 1 November 1999. One of the episodes, "Funeral for a Princess", was about the Murder of Belinda Williams at her Elizabeth Street home in Buninyong, Victoria. This is still a "Cold Case" as of 2026.

Presenters

Featured presenters on the various incarnations of the show included:

• Don Willesee – 1988 pilot
• Bryan Marshall – 1989 ^[6]
• Ann Sanders – 1993 ^{[7] [8]}
• Sarah Henderson – 1994 ^[9]
• Roger Climpson – 1997–1998
• Alastair Duncan – Voiceover (Seven Network)
• Hugh Riminton and Kim Watkins – 1999 (Nine Network) ^{[10] [5]}

During 1993, the regular New South Wales Police representative was Senior Constable Denise Behringer. Jackie Forsyth, the wife of murdered police constable Peter Forsyth, worked as a special reporter in the Nine Network version. ^[11]

Wanted

In 2013, Network Ten re-booted the series calling it Wanted . The hosts were Sandra Sully and Matt Doran. ^[12] The show was not a success and was cancelled two months later.

References

1. "Australia's Most Wanted (SAS-7, 17/02/88)". 17 February 1988.
2. Mitchell, Lisa (24 April 1997). "This crime show's more wanted than ever". The Age. Retrieved 21 January 2024– via Newspapers.com.
3. Gleitzman, Morris (8 March 1989). "Murder, cops and stand-up corpses". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 January 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. Hughes, Peter (10 August 1989). "Australia's Most Wanted is murder for some children". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 January 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. Conway, Andrew (27 September 1999). "Nine left wanting". The Guide. The Sydney Morning Herald . p. 58. Retrieved 21 January 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. Sadlier, Kevin (11 June 1989). "Bryan's arresting success". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 January 2024– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Ann Sanders". Yahoo News. 3 December 2008.
8. "1992: December 27-January 2". 26 December 2012.
9. "1994: January 15-21". 16 January 2014.
10. "Monday October 4". Program Guide. The Sydney Morning Herald . 4 October 1999. p. 61. Retrieved 21 January 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia". 27 September 1999.
12. Knox, David (22 June 2013). "Airdate: Wanted". TV Tonight. Retrieved 21 January 2024.

External links

• Australia's Most Wanted at IMDb