Brinkworth doc The Body Thief to probe funeral home scandal for Channel 4

UK broadcaster Channel 4 has commissioned a two-part documentary about the Legacy Independent Funeral Directors scandal, a recent criminal case that shocked the country and left hundreds of families devastated.

Anna Miralis

Produced by Brinkworth Productions, The Body Thief (working title) documents events after Humberside Police were alerted to worrying concerns about the care of the deceased at a funeral home in March 2024.

Following a major police investigation, more than 300 victims were identified. Among them were families who discovered their relatives had not been cremated and that the ashes returned to them were not those of their loved ones.

As well as discovering 35 bodies in varying states of decomposition at the Legacy premises, detectives also uncovered ashes belonging to well over 100 people scattered across the funeral home’s sites throughout Hull and the surrounding area.

With exclusive access to the police and families at the heart of the case, the 2×60′ doc will follow the police investigation and custody interviews, while giving voice to the families at the heart of the case as both relatives and detectives search for answers.

It was commissioned for Channel 4 by Anna Miralis, senior commissioning editor, documentaries. Lorna-Dawn Creanor and Malcolm Brinkworth serve as executive producers.