In 1984 a new BBC TV show titled Crimewatch UK put the call out to the public asking for help to solve crimes.
Based on German TV show Aktenzeichen XY… ungelöst (which translates as File Reference XY … Unsolved), the series reconstructed major unsolved crimes hoping that it would encourage everyday people to assist police.
Originally due to run for only three programmes, the first episode aired on June 7 and was hosted by Nick Ross and Sue Cook.
Considered as an experiment when it initially aired, there were doubts the police would take part and that witnesses and victims would welcome the idea.
There were also concerns that the show could be at risk of prejudicing juries.
However, the series was a hit and went on to run for 332 episodes over the subsequent 33 years.
In each episode, three or four cases were presented, with each featuring reconstructions of the crime, interviews with senior detectives and/or relatives or friends of victims and key evidence including profiles of suspects and details of certain lines of enquiry.
A ‘CCTV section’ also showed crimes caught on camera, while ‘Wanted Faces’ showed close-up pictures of suspects police were searching for.
Viewers could contact Crimewatch by phoning 0500 600 600, with the phone lines remaining open until midnight the night following the programme.
For the first 11 years of the programme, it was fronted by Ross and Cook until she departed in June 1995 and was then replaced by Jill Dando.
However following Dando’s shocking murder in April 1999 (which itself is still unsolved) Ross went on to host solo until the following year, when Fiona Bruce joined.
After seven years on screen together Ross and Bruce left the show and were replaced by Kirsty Young and Matthew Amroliwala.
After their eventual exits in 2015 the BBC announced the show would relaunch with a new weekly format fronted by Jeremy Vine and Tina Daheley, who began their roles in September 2016.
However, a year later, in October 2017, the series was cancelled.
It ran for another five months before being taken off screens due to declining viewership.
At its peak, Crimewatch drew 14 million followers, but by 2017 it had fallen to an average of three million per episode.
By the time the last episode of Crimewatch aired on March 20, 2017, 57 murderers, 53 rapists and sex offenders and 18 paedophiles were captured as a direct result of Crimewatch appeals.
These included some of Britain’s most notorious crimes, including the kidnap of Stephanie Slater and murder of Julie Dart, the M25 rapist, the road-rage killing by Kenneth Noye, and the capture of two boys for the abduction and murder of James Bulger.
Despite its undeniable success in solving crimes, a study by the Broadcasting Standards Council found that Crimewatch increased the fear of crime in over half of its respondents, and a third said it made them feel ‘afraid’.
However, many others said its role in society was an overwhelmingly positive one, promoting collective responsibility and a sense of community.
As Ross said when he signed off each episode to address concerns about the effect the at-times confronting content could have on audiences: ‘Don’t have nightmares, do sleep well.’
Despite Crimewatch ending in 2017, its spin-off Crimewatch Live continues to air and catch criminals to this day.
A version of Crimewatch Live first aired from 2000 to 2001 as Crimewatch Daily, before a similar format returned in 2009, then named Crimewatch Roadshow and later became Crimewatch Live in 2021, currently hosted by Rav Wilding and Michelle Ackerley.
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The former is a retired policeman who last year said he was a ‘proud advocate of highlighting the work of our emergency services and the lengths they go to, to keep our communities safe’.
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