BBC2 examines Babes in the Wood case

BBC2 in the UK has commissioned a documentary on an historical miscarriage of justice that was recently settled 32 years after the crime thanks to a DNA breakthrough.

Patrick Holland

UK indie Gold Star productions is working on The Babes in the Wood: The Prosecutors, which will form the third and final instalment of its The Prosecutors series for the UK pubcaster.

The hour-long doc will air on January 7 at 21.00. It will detail the work by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on the retrial of Russell Bishop, who was initially cleared of killing nine-year-old friends Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows 32 years ago but was convicted at his second trial and sentenced to 36 years in prison last week.

Gold Star had access to the work of the CPS for 18 months in the run-up to the retrial, which was only possible after a change in the UK’s double-jeopardy laws that has meant suspects can now be retried for a crime from which they were previously exonerated.

The 1×60’ programme is a coproduction between Gold Star and The Open University. It was commissioned by BBC2 controller Patrick Holland and head of commissioning for documentaries Clare Sillery.