“Uncovering Melanie’s Murderer” About the Melanie Road Case Airs on 29 August with “Slave to Love” and Docuseries “The Day I Should Have Died” Showing Later in the Year
London, 19 August 2016. AMC Networks International – UK today announced a trio of CBS Reality Original series to air on CBS Reality, a joint venture between CBS Studios International and AMC Networks International – UK. First to air is “Uncovering Melanie’s Murderer” at 10:00 pm on 29 August, UK Bank Holiday Monday, followed by “The Day I Should Have Died” and “Slave to Love,” both premiering later in the year.
All three shows are produced by Peninsula Television and commissioned by Sam Rowden for CBS Reality as part of the autumn line up on the channel.
“Uncovering Melanie’s Murderer” (1 x 60) is a one-off special dealing with the widely publicised case of Melanie Road. On the morning of 9 June 1984 the body of teenager, Melanie Road, was found just yards from her home. It transpired she had been brutally stabbed in a frenzied attack before being raped as she lay dying. Despite intensive investigations and the work of police forces right across the southwest of Britain, her killer remained undetected for over three decades until new developments in forensic science finally caught up with him. This timely special will use a mixture of first-hand accounts from the original detectives working on the case, some of them returning from retirement to catch the murderer as well as key witnesses, commentators and location footage to trace the case from the very beginning to its conclusion this summer, which saw Christopher Hampton sentenced to life for Melanie’s murder.
“The Day I Should Have Died” (10 x 60) is a compelling series that, each week, covers a different survivor’s grueling and harrowing tale of cheating death. The first episode tells the account of Gill Hicks, a survivor of the 7/7 London bombings. Other survivor stories in the series will focus on escaping serial killers, shootings and natural disasters.
“Slave to Love” (1 x 60) is a one-hour special on the story of Graham Dwyer and Elaine O’Hara, the two people at the centre of the most talked about criminal trial in recent Irish history. The film has enormous international resonance because beneath the seemingly normal lives of the protagonists lay a complex and intricate relationship based on the most extreme sado-masochistic practices. Graham Dwyer was an Irish architect, a seemingly respectful, successful professional and family man who killed his sex slave Elaine O’Hara in the Dublin mountains and then tried to conceal her body. It was over a year before her body was discovered and Dwyer identified as the killer by police based on harrowing text and videos obtained from mobile phones.
Sam Rowden, AMC Networks International – UK’s Director of Programming, CBS Reality and New Media, said: “With crime documentaries resonating so well with our audience, CBS Reality’s aim is to continue to present our viewers with the most intriguing and challenging crime cases.”
Peninsula Television Managing Director, David Harvey, commented: “We are thrilled with the three commissions for CBS Reality. Creating thought provoking, stimulating content is what we do at Peninsula, and we are delighted that the CBS Reality audience of crime fans will have the chance to see these shows exclusively on the channel.”
The three commissions follow on from the recently transmitted series “Murderers and Their Mothers” presented by Donal MacIntyre, a co-production with Foxtel Australia and DRG. The series was produced by Emporium Productions with the first half shown this spring and the second half airing exclusively on CBS Reality from September.
“Uncovering Melanie’s Murderer” broadcasts on Monday 29th August at 9:00 pm exclusively on CBS Reality – Sky 149, Virgin 197, Freesat 134 and Freeview 74.
“The Day I Should Have Died” and “Slave to Love” are coming later this autumn.
CBS Reality is the biggest factual entertainment channel in the UK amongst adult women and the 10th most watched non-PSB channel amongst all adults.*
* Source: BARB/Techedge, audience shares based on whole day viewing, adults.
About CBS Reality UK
Home to the good, the bad and the extraordinary, this award winning reality channel is packed with compelling documentaries and hard-hitting true dramas.
Available in over 26 million UK households throughout the UK via the Sky, Virgin Media, Freesat and Freeview platforms, CBS Reality is the biggest factual entertainment channel in the country amongst adult women and the tenth most watched non-PSB channel amongst all adults. Popular and exclusive programming include “Donal MacIntyre: Unsolved,” “Judge Judy,” “Cold Blood,” “Wives with Knives” and “Killer Doctors on Death Row.”
Launched in November 2009, CBS Reality is part of the CBS AMC Networks UK Channels Partnership, a fast growing portfolio of entertainment channels owned by CBS Studios International, the leading supplier of programming to the international television marketplace and leading international broadcaster AMC Networks International – UK.
About AMC Networks International – UK
AMC Networks International – UK is a business unit of AMC Networks International, a leading producer and distributor of television channels reaching subscribers in more than 140 countries and territories, including Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America and spanning a range of genres, including movie, lifestyle, entertainment, sports, children’s and factual.
AMC Networks International is the global division of AMC Networks. For more information, visit: www.www.amcnetworks.com/amcni
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