How Madeleine McCann's parents became suspects in her disappearance

A new TV dramatisation has revisited the testimony of Kate McCann after she was accused of accidentally killing her daughter.

Perhaps the most famous missing person's case in modern history, Madeleine McCann disappeared from her bedroom while on holiday with her parents in Portugal's Algarve region in May 2007.

After months of pursuing dead ends, Kate and Gerry McCann were formally declared as 'arguidos' (suspects) in the disappearance of their three-year-old daughter months after.

Both Kate and Gerry were interviewed extensively by the Portuguese police before being formally cleared as suspects in 2008.

Now, Channel 5 has revisited Kate's testimony in a new dramatisation, Under Suspicion: Kate McCann, which sees Laura Bayston take on the role of a desperate mother accused of being responsible for her daughter's disappearance.

It's unlikely to be well received in the McCann household as the parents released a statement saying they were 'disappointed' about the Channel 5 show.

They said: "We have not given, or been asked for, our consent and have had no involvement whatsoever in its making. We fail to see how it will help. Programmes like this, always have a negative impact on our family."

Why were the McCanns declared suspects by Portuguese police?

A key piece of 'evidence' Portuguese police claimed pointed to the McCanns' guilt was the reaction of police sniffer dogs, which were brought to Praia da Luz in summer 2007.

A police report claimed the dogs detected the 'scent of death' in certain parts of the family's accommodation, including behind the sofa of apartment 5A and in the rental car hired for the holiday.

There were also claims that blood samples found in the McCanns' holiday apartment and rental car returned evidence of Madeleine's DNA – however British forensic scientists later warned Portuguese police that DNA evidence was 'inconclusive' and shouldn't be used.

There were also issues with the translation of the McCanns' testimonies, as neither of them were not recorded but instead manually translated from English to Portuguese by an interpreter.

This is shown in Channel 5's dramatisation, when detectives accuse Kate of changing her story when asked about an evening when she slept in the children's room instead of with Gerry.

Madeleine McCann was abducted from her holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on 3 May 2007 (Handout/Getty Images)

Police also accused the couple of inconsistencies in how they entered and exited the apartment on the night of Madeleine's disappearance.

Kate McCann pushed for a confession

Using this evidence, Portuguese police officers offered a plea deal to Kate: 'Confess' to accidentally killing Madeleine as well as disposing of her body and receive 'around two years in jail'.

According to NZ Herald, which cites Kate's book, Madeleine: Our daughter's disappearance and the continuing search for her, the doctor was also told that if she admitted to killing her daughter, the police would allow Gerry to walk free.

However, the couple refused to accept the deal, despite warnings they could face life sentences.

Kate McCann's 'no comment' response

Following Kate's initial interrogation by Portuguese police, she returns for a second interview after being declared an 'arguida' she declines to answer any of the questions put to her by detectives, instead opting to respond 'no comment'.

Kate McCann's testimony is revisited in the Channel 5 special, where she is played by actress Laura Bayston (Channel 5)

Kate's refusal to answer questions became a source for numerous conspiracy theories around the case, with the list of 48 questions she declined to answer later being made available to the public.

This included questions such as:

• Why did you leave the twins to go to the ‘Tapas’ and raise the alarm?
• What does 'we let her down' mean?
• Did you ask for a priest?
• Is it true that in England, you even considered handing over Madeleine’s custody to a relative?
• In England, did you medicate your children? What type of medication?
• Did you have any responsibility or intervention in your daughter’s disappearance?

However in Under Suspicion, we learn the reason why Kate declined to answer police questions, as she was under instruction from her attorney, Carlos Pinto de Abreu, not to.

The couple were cleared of their arguido status in 2008 (Joe Giddens - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

"It is the safest option," he says. "Any response could implicate you in some way.

"I strongly advise you not to answer their questions."

Why were the McCanns cleared of their suspect status?

In July 2008, the couple were formally cleared of their 'arguido' status by Portuguese police.

The authorities would later apologise to the couple in 2023 for how the case was handled. Goncalo Amaral, the senior detective who led the case, would later be removed from the investigation. He was found guilty and convicted of falsifying evidence in relation to another missing person's case in 2009.

Under Suspicion: Kate McCann airs at 9pm on Channel 5 and is available to watch on demand via its streaming service.