PA/GettyMadeleine McCann’s parents have had their say on the upcoming Netflix documentary about their daughter.
The programme will focus on the disappearance of Maddie, and is said to include riveting interviews with key investigators, who will presumably try to shed some light on the baffling case.
The young girl went missing in May 2007 from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, a resort in the Algarve region of Portugal, where her parents had left her to go and have dinner in a nearby restaurant. Police are yet to figure out exactly what happened to Maddie.
PAAlthough the filmmakers repeatedly approached Kate and Gerry McCann and asked them to take part in the documentary, the parents refused. They’ve now broken their silence, releasing their first – and seemingly last – statement on the matter, BBC News reports.
The couple argued the film could hinder the search for their daughter, saying:
We are aware that Netflix are planning to screen a documentary in March 2019 about Madeleine’s disappearance.
The production company told us that they were making the documentary and asked us to participate.
They continued:
We did not see – and still do not see – how this programme will help the search for Madeleine and, particularly given there is an active police investigation, it could potentially hinder it.
Consequently, our views and preferences are not reflected in the programme. We will not be making any further statements or giving interviews regarding this programme.
PALast week, The Sun reported Scotland Yard asked the Home Office for more funding to allow the investigation into Maddie’s disappearance to go for another year.
Funding through Special Grants has already cost the British taxpayer over £11 million.
Speaking to The Sun, Kate and Gerry’s spokesperson Clarence Mitchell said:
Kate and Gerry are extremely grateful to the Metropolitan Police for making a new funding application. And whilst they know it is not guaranteed they are hoping it will be approved.
It shows that officers are still doing everything they can to get a resolution after all this time. And it gives them hope that one day they may finally find out what happened to their daughter.
It gives them belief there is still work left to be done.
GettyThe investigation’s latest funding is due to run out within weeks, at the end of the current financial year.
An official release date for the Maddie documentary has not yet been confirmed, but the show is expected to arrive on Netflix in the next few weeks.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.