MURDER TRIAL: THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MARGARET FLEMING
08 January 2020
MURDER TRIAL: THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MARGARET FLEMING
Margaret Fleming was a vulnerable adult looked after by two carers, Edward Cairney and Avril Jones, in a remote coastal property in the village of Inverkip. But when police asked neighbours about Margaret, they were told she hadn’t been seen for nearly 20 years.
Just before Christmas in 1999 the then 19 year old Margaret had seemingly disappeared. Yet not one person had reported her missing.
With unprecedented access to a high profile murder trial that gripped Scotland, together with access to the police investigation and the prosecution and defence teams, this unique two-part documentary tells the story of a trial without a body, a community without answers and a young woman without the means to look after herself - lost by a social care system, lost by friends and family and lost to time.
Murder Trial has won multiple awards and nominations. The series won the 2020 BAFTA Scotland award for Factual Series and Matt Pinder collected the BAFTA Scotland Best Director prize. It won the three prizes at the 2021 RTS Scotland Awards - Best Documentary and Factual Series, Best Director and Best Editor. It also won the best Documentary Series prize at the 2020 TBI Content Innovation Awards. Murder Trial was nominated for Best Documentary at the Edinburgh TV Festival Awards and the Broadcast Digital Awards, and for Best Documentary Series at the Broadcast Awards.
Superb... A gripping legal drama about neglect and avarice in a remote coastal community, a tragic and often surreal tale delivered with sensitivity and meticulous craft.
Sunday Times
A beautifully shot and moving two-parter... The very best in factual programming.
Broadcast
This week, in an extraordinary BBC documentary, viewers will see exactly what jurors see: justice at the sharp end as the cameras reveal the inner workings of the trial process. Courtroom dramas are, of course, staples of our television schedules - but never before quite like this.
Daily Mail
Utterly absorbing
The Independent
Astonishing... Riveting drama... Turns the idea that fiction is more compelling than fact on its head.... However you do it, catch up with this one as quickly as you can.
The Herald
