BBC to cancel Crimewatch after 33 years

Reconstruction show has featured murders of James Bulger, Rhys Jones and Damilola Taylor and disappearances of Madeleine McCann and Claudia Lawrence among its most famous cases

Nick Ross introducing a segment about the still-unsolved murder of his co-presenter Jill Dando on a famous episode of the programme from 1999 (Rex)

The BBC is to drop Crimewatch after more than three decades.

The show – which reconstructs unsolved crimes in a bid to gather information from the public – was only relaunched last September with Jeremy Vine as a host.

Daytime spin-off Crimewatch Roadshow will continue to be shown, the broadcaster said.

A BBC spokesman said: “We believe the successful Crimewatch Roadshow format in daytime is the best fit for the brand going forward and we will increase the number of episodes to make two series a year.

“We are incredibly proud of Crimewatch and the great work it has done over the years and the work Crimewatch Roadshow will continue to do, and this move will also allow us to create room for new innovative programmes in peak time on BBC One.”

Sue Cook and Nick Ross hosted the first show in 1984 which featured the murder of 16-year-old Colette Aram, who disappeared as she walked to her boyfriend's house in Keyworth, Nottinghamshire, in October 1983.

Cook was replaced by Jill Dando in 1995, with the latter's murder in April 1999 featuring on the programme a month later.

As a result of the calls made to the programme, the police were led on a new line of enquiry which resulted in the arrest of Barry George. George was wrongly convicted of the killing and acquitted in 2008.

Other crimes to have featured on the show over the past 33 years have included the murders of James Bulger, Rhys Jones and Damilola Taylor, as well as the disappearances of Madeleine McCann, Suzy Lamplugh and Claudia Lawrence.

PA