Crimewatch (formerly Crimewatch UK) is a British television programme produced by the BBC, that reconstructs major unsolved crimes in order to gain information from the public which may assist in solving the case. The programme was originally broadcast once a month on BBC One, although in the final years before cancellation it was usually broadcast roughly once every two months.
Crimewatch was first broadcast on 7 June 1984, and is based on the German TV show Aktenzeichen XY… ungelöst (which translates as File Reference XY … Unsolved). Nick Ross and Sue Cook presented the show for the first eleven years, until Cook's departure in June 1995. Cook was replaced by Jill Dando. After Dando was murdered in April 1999, Ross hosted Crimewatch alone until January 2000, when Fiona Bruce joined the show.[1]
Kirsty Young and Matthew Amroliwala replaced Ross and Bruce following their departures in 2007. The BBC announced on 15 October 2008 that they would move production of shows such as Crimewatch to studios in Cardiff.[2] Young and Amroliwala remained as the lead presenters until 2015. Following a brief period with guest presenter Sophie Raworth in 2016, it was announced that the show would relaunch in September 2016 with a new weekly format. The new presenters were announced as Jeremy Vine and Tina Daheley.[3] The new series began on 5 September 2016, with the final episode broadcast on 20 March 2017.
In October 2017, the BBC announced that the main Crimewatch series had been cancelled, citing declining viewership.[4] The daytime spin-off series Crimewatch Roadshow (now Crimewatch Live) would continue to air, but will also air more episodes per year.[5]Crime NI, a similar live monthly programme in partnership with Crimestoppers UK, was aired from 3 September 2021 to 11 April 2022 on BBC One Northern Ireland and presented by Wendy Austin and Dearbhail McDonald.[6]
History
The idea for the show came from the UK programme Police 5 and the German Aktenzeichen XY… ungelöst (File Reference XY … Unsolved).[7] Producers viewed the shows and rejected the overt reconstructions with music to build suspense in America's Most Wanted, and were also against the idea of filming the reconstruction from the perspective of the offender as in Aktenzeichen XY… ungelöst (particularly for sexual assaults).[8] However, they favoured the idea of audience participation in the show.[8]
Originally, Crimewatch UK (as it was then known) was due to run for only three programmes.[9] It was regarded as an experiment when it was first shown due to doubts that the police would take part and[9] scepticism as to whether witnesses and victims would welcome the idea. There was also concern that it could be considered to prejudice a jury. In over 25 years, 57 murderers, 53 rapists and sex offenders, 18 paedophiles, and others were captured as a direct result of Crimewatch appeals.[citation needed]
Logo used after the show's name dropped the "UK" suffix (2008–2014)
Crimewatch used to be shown once a month on BBC One usually at 9pm, with a Crimewatch Update at 10.35 (following the BBC News at Ten). Since March 2011 the show aired less frequently, roughly once every two months.[11] It featured approximately three or four cases per show, with each case featuring reconstructions of the crime. It was one of the largest live factual studio productions. The films shown often feature interviews with senior detectives and/or relatives or friends of victims.[12] Key evidence is usually shown, such as E-FIT profiles of suspects and details of certain lines of enquiry.
Other features to the show included a "CCTV section", which showed crimes caught on CCTV with enhanced imagery of suspects. A "Wanted Faces" section was also featured: eight close-up pictures of suspects police are trying to trace are shown on screen. This section also frequently involves information about suspects, including aliases. These eight photos are shown upon the programme's closing credits, one of the few programmes in which the BBC do not 'show the credits in reduced size'.
Viewers could contact Crimewatch by phoning 0500 600 600, with the phone lines remaining open until midnight the night following the programme. Viewers could also send text messages to 63399. Due to the high demand for cases to be shown on the programme, many other cases are added to the Crimewatch website. These are joined by reconstructions, CCTV footage and wanted faces that have been shown on previous programmes. All reconstructions, CCTV footage, faces and cases remain on the Crimewatch website until the criminals are caught or suspects convicted. Crimewatch can be watched on the BBC iPlayer catch-up service for 24 hours from broadcast.
Crimewatch Update
Following the main programme, there was a 10–15 minute follow-up after the BBC News at Ten, with updates on calls and results from the earlier broadcast. This was removed when the show relaunched in September 2016.
Police involvement
Several police officers have appeared on the programme from the studio, including David Hatcher, Helen Phelps, Jeremy Paine, Jacqui Hames, Jonathan Morrison, Jane Corrigan, and Rav Wilding.[13] For many years the programme also included antiques experts John Bly, Eric Knowles and Paul Hayes to help with 'treasure trove' details of recovered goods believed to have been stolen.[12]
Despite initial police concerns about involvement[9] (only three forces out of more than 40 agreed to participate initially), Crimewatch developed a special status with police and was credited with an expertise of its own, notably through Nick Ross' long experience with public appeals. Unlike the American equivalent, America's Most Wanted, Crimewatch itself usually appeals for unsolved cases inviting viewers to be armchair detectives. According to the producers, about a third of its cases are solved, half of those as a direct result of viewers' calls. Its successes have included some of Britain's most notorious crimes, including the kidnap of Stephanie Slater and murder of Julie Dart, the M25 rapist, the road-rage killing by Kenneth Noye, and the capture of two boys for the abduction and murder of James Bulger.
Over the years, Crimewatch has featured appeals from all 43 police forces in the country. 1 in 3 appeals leads to an arrest and 1 in 5 lead to a conviction. 4 or 5 requests to air appeals are received from police forces every day.[citation needed]
Ratings and public response
At its peak, Crimewatch was seen by 14 million viewers per week. However, by 2017, credited to competition from other programmes, it had fallen to an average of 3 million.[5] At the time of the programme's 150th episode in January 1999, it was reported that the average viewing figures were 8 million.[14]
A study by the Broadcasting Standards Council found that Crimewatch increased the fear of crime in over half of its respondents, and a third said it made them feel "afraid".[15] However, according to John Sears, senior English lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University,[16][17] it provides a beneficial role, performing "a social function by helping to solve crime, and drawing on the collective responsibilities, experiences and knowledge of the viewing audience in order to do so."[18]
The main anchor and longest-serving presenter of the series since its inception. His catchphrase, "Don't have nightmares, do sleep well" (which closed out most episodes), became a household phrase and was often spoofed in numerous other TV shows. During his time on the show, he had three co-presenters: Sue Cook, Jill Dando and Fiona Bruce. From May 1999 until January 2000, Ross presented the show alone following the murder of Jill Dando. He left the programme in July 2007 to concentrate on other broadcasting projects.
British broadcaster and author, and first co-presenter of the series. Unlike her successors, Cook acted more as a second main anchor, sometimes presenting a larger segment of the programme than Ross. Cook left the series in June 1995 to focus on other broadcasting projects.
British broadcaster and newsreader. Second co-presenter of the series, appointed following Sue Cook's departure. The edition of Crimewatch broadcast on 20 April 1999 would be Dando's last; she was murdered six days later (26 April). Her murder was reconstructed on the May 1999 programme, where an appeal for witnesses was made. Calls made by viewers initially draw the police onto a new line of enquiry, in which they identified suspect Barry George, who was later convicted of the killing, but was acquitted in August 2008 following an appeal. No further appeals for information were ever made on the programme, and the murder remains unsolved to this day.
British broadcaster and newsreader. Third co-presenter of the series, appointed in January 2000 following the murder of Jill Dando the previous year. Bruce co-hosted with Ross until his departure in July 2007, but left the show in December 2007 to host Antiques Roadshow.
Former newsreader for ITV and Channel Five who became the main anchor of the show in January 2008. Young departed the series in December 2015 after seven years.[19]
British newsreader who became the show's fourth co-presenter, Amroliwala hosted both the "How they were caught" and "update" segments. He left the show in March 2015 to focus on his other role of international affairs correspondent for BBC News.
Former rugby player and policeman turned sports commentator, who took over from Rav Wilding in January 2012 as the presenter of the "Caught on Camera" segment. Bayfield was the only remaining full-time presenter on the show when the BBC chose to reboot the format, and did not return.
British rugby commentator and journalist, who initially took over from Amroliwala for two months on a temporary basis, before returning in October 2015 as a full-time presenter. Mohammad did not return to the show when the format was rebooted in September 2016.
British newsreader, presenter and journalist who took over as main anchor as part of a new rebooted format in September 2016, which saw the programme travel across the country and broadcast from the scene of one of the main appeals featured in the episode.
British newsreader and former BBC Radio 1 journalist who took over as co-presenter in September 2016, taking over the roles of both Mohammad and Bayfield, presenting the "Caught on Camera", "How they were caught" and "update" segments.
Police officers
Presenter
Year
Additional information
Chief Supt. David Hatcher
1984–1999
At the time of his appointment a Chief Inspector, Hatcher presented the "Photocall" and "Incident Desk" sections for 15 years. The first and longest-serving police officer to feature on the programme, Hatcher retired from the programme in July 1999 and the force in 2004, having reached the rank of Chief Superintendent. During his time on the show, he had two co-presenters: PC Helen Phelps and DS Jacqui Hames and was replaced by DCS Jeremy Paine.
PC Helen Phelps
1984–1990
Co-presenter of the "Photocall" and "Incident Desk" sections sections alongside David Hatcher for six years. She subsequently left the police to become a researcher for the programme and was replaced by Jacqui Hames.
Succeeded Helen Phelps as co-presenter of the 'Photocall' section alongside David Hatcher. Remained with the show for 16 years, before quitting in 2005. Hames made her last apperance on the programme in January 2006. Co-presented the Friday episode of Crimewatch Roadshow in 2013.[20]
DCS Jeremy Paine
1999–2005
Joined the show in September 1999; previously appeared as a Senior Investigating Officer.[21]
PC Jonathan Morrison
2004–2005
Morrsion joined in May 2004 and was the first black police presenter in the programme's history.
A Detective Constable at the time of joining the show in June 2004 on its 20th anniversary, Wilding host a segment entitled "Caught on Camera", which replaced the previously featured "Photocall" section. Wilding departed the main show in December 2011, but continues to present the Crimewatch Roadshow.
DS Jane Corrigan
2006–2007
Succeeded Hames as co-presenter alongside Wilding; also appeared on Crimewatch Roadshow
Took over as temporary main anchor following Kirsty Young's departure. She presented the first three shows of 2016, before the show was taken off-air and rebooted with Jeremy Vine as main anchor.
Featured again after a new DNA development. The 2015 appeal caused the arrest of the actor who played the murderer, after viewers mistakenly identified him as the killer[38]
Suspected serial killer who always killed on 12 December, and who is believed to have killed up to 20 people across naval bases around the world. Prime suspect in the disappearance of sailor Simon Parkes from Gibraltar on 12 December 1986.[45][46]
Mysterious prime suspect in the murder of Julie Pacey. After a 2015 re-appeal on the case, confused viewers mistakenly called in to report that the (innocent) actor who played the suspect, Steve Watson, was the killer[38]
Woman known as the 'Black Widow', murdered her second husband for financial gain and also stole money from many other partners. She was also tried for the attempted murder of her third husband.
First aired on 10 August 1988, Crimewatch File is an hour-long programme devoted to the reconstruction and investigation of a single case including cases that the programme has previously helped to solve.[55] Presented by Nick Ross and Sue Cook concurrently (with Jill Dando taking over from Cook in 1996), more than thirty editions aired until April 2000, when the final edition, fronted by Ross, was broadcast. Following this, in latter years of the main Crimewatch programme, episodes would regularly feature segments and reports in a very similar vein to Crimewatch File.
Crime Limited was the second spin-off from Crimewatch which took cameras behind the scenes of the crimes. The first series aired on BBC One over ten episodes in 1992 and was presented by Nick Ross[56] and Sue Cook. A second series ran in 1993 and a third series ran in 1994.[57][58]
Crimewatch Extra
First aired in late 1998,[59]Crimewatch Extra was a short-lived spin-off from the main programme, which would give updates and reports received on the cases featured in the previous month's programme. Broadcast on BBC Choice,[60] the series was presented by Emma Howard. Around ten episodes were broadcast, with the final episode airing on 25 August 1999.[61]
Beginning on 10 August 1999, a new yearly programme entitled Crimewatch: Solved was transmitted, showing cases previously featured on the programme that resulted in convictions.[70] Aside from 2002, a new edition was broadcast every year until 2010, when the thirteenth and final edition aired on 1 September 2010.
The BBC has aired a number of weekday Crimewatch programmes. Originally shown between 2000 and 2001, Crimewatch Daily was the first daily version of the programme, aired between 10:00 and 11:00am on weekday mornings, that appealed for help with unsolved cases not covered in the main programme. Originally shown between 2009 and 2020, Crimewatch Roadshow was the second daily version of the programme, that was broadcast on weekdays from 9:15 to 10:00am. From 8 March 2021, the show's name was changed to Crimewatch Live and is aired between 10.00 and 10:45am on weekday mornings.
Crimewatch Specials
Crimewatch also aired a number of one-off programmes.
First aired on 21 May 1997, Crimewatch: Hot Property was a one-off special presented by Jill Dando. The programme's aim was to help people find their stolen property that were recovered in police raids.[71]
A New Zealand version of Crimewatch was broadcast on TVNZ from 1987 until 1996 and was replaced by NZI Crimescene which was aired in 1997 and 1998. It was shown once a month on TV One.
In its first year, Crimewatch was shown on fourth Mondays at 8pm before moving to fourth Tuesdays at 8pm in 1988 and 8.30pm from 1989 (with a Crimewatch Update aired at around 11pm) until mid-1996. The programme moved to TV2 on 1 August 1996 and aired at 8.30pm on a fourth Thursday until it ended later that year.
Ian Johnstone presented the New Zealand version throughout its entire run, and was joined by Natalie Brunt (1987–88), Carol Hirschfeld (1989–93), Tiana Tofilau (1994) and Mairanga White (1995–96) as successive co-presenters. Calls to the show's special phoneline helped police solve approximately 1,400 cases.[84]
Jill Wendy Dando was an English journalist, television presenter and newsreader. She spent most of her career at the BBC and was the corporation's Personality of the Year in 1997. At the time of her death, her television work included co-presenting the BBC One programme Crimewatch with Nick Ross.
Crimewatch is a Singaporean television programme produced by the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) in collaboration with the Singapore Police Force (SPF). It is aired on Mediacorp's Channel 5, Channel 8, Suria and Vasantham.
Nicholas David Ross is a British radio and television presenter. During the 1980s and 1990s he was one of the most ubiquitous of British broadcasters but is best known for hosting the BBC Television programme Crimewatch, which he left in 2007 after 23 years. He has subsequently filmed a series for BBC One called The Truth About Crime and has made documentaries for BBC Radio 4. He is chairman, president, trustee or patron of a number of charities including the National Fire Chiefs Council, and is President of the British Security Industries Association.
Aktenzeichen XY... ungelöst is a German interactive television programme first broadcast on 20 October 1967 on ZDF. Created by Eduard Zimmermann, it aims to combat and solve crimes. The programme is currently presented by Rudi Cerne. It airs monthly, with 12 episodes in a year, on Wednesday at 8:15 PM.
Rav Wilding is a British television presenter and former police officer who served with the British Transport Police and Metropolitan Police Service. Prior to joining the police, Wilding served in the British Army and worked as a security guard at Harrods department store in London. He is best known for his role as a presenter on the BBC TV show Crimewatch.
This is a list of British television related events from 1999.
This is a list of British television related events from 1997.
This is a list of British television related events from 1994.
This is a list of British television related events from 1993.
This is a list of British television related events from 1992.
This is a list of British television related events from 1988.
This is a list of British television related events from 1987.
This is a list of British television related events from 1986.
This is a list of British television related events from 1985.
This is a list of British television related events from 1984.
Crimewatch Live is a British television programme produced by BBC Studios Documentary Unit Cymru Wales, that reconstructs major unsolved crimes in order to gain information from the public which may assist in solving them. The programme is broadcast on BBC One.
Crime Limited was a BBC television series that was a spin-off from the BBC's Crimewatch. The first series aired on BBC One over ten episodes in 1992 and was presented by Nick Ross and Sue Cook. A second series ran in 1993 and a third series ran in 1994.
This is a timeline of the history of BBC One.
Crimewatch File was a British television programme which reconstructed the investigation of a single case that had previously been covered by Crimewatch which viewers had previously helped to solve.
Crimewatch Solved was a BBC television series that was a spin-off from the BBC's Crimewatch. The first episode aired on BBC One in 1999 and was presented by Nick Ross. The final episode aired in September 2010 and was presented by Matthew Amroliwala.
↑ Jewkes, Yvonne (2004) Media and crime, SAGE, p. 153
1 2 Schlesinger, Philip; Tumber, Howard (1994) "Fighting the war against crime: Television, police and audience." The British Journal of Criminology.33:19-32
↑ "Academic Staff". Faculty of Humanities, Law and Social Sciences – English and Creative Writing Department. Manchester Metropolitan University. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
↑ Bignell, Jonathan (2004) An introduction to television studies, Routledge, p. 197
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
