Channel 5 presents The Trial of Harold Shipman, airing on Thursday, 22 August 2024, at 9:00 PM. This documentary looks at the 1999-2000 murder trial of Hyde GP, Dr Harold Shipman, who was charged with murdering 15 of his patients. It promises an untold, inside story of the trial, featuring exclusive access to and insights from the prosecution team’s Robert Davies KC and defence barrister Chris Daw KC. Journalists who attended the trial narrate the unpredictable storyline of this courtroom battle.
The film includes testimony from forensic pathologist John Rutherford and an exclusive interview with US drug abuse expert, Dr Steven Karch, who shares his impressive findings. Through trial transcripts, first-hand accounts, and reconstructions, the documentary reveals the strategies of both the prosecution and defence teams. It starts on day one of the trial and follows the proceedings through to sentencing.
The public and media found it difficult to accept that a GP could be guilty of murdering his patients, and the prosecution faced an uphill battle to prove Shipman’s guilt. The defence team, on the other hand, sought to refute the prosecution toxicologist’s findings of morphine in the exhumed bodies. Could Dr Harold Shipman, the so-called friendly local GP, convince the jury that the women died of natural causes?
The Trial of Harold Shipman airs on Channel 5 at 9:00 PM on Thursday, 22 August 2024.
