Searching For Shannon

Sheridan Smith stars in a gripping dramatisation of the Shannon Matthews case

- Emma Bulumore

The astounding case of Shannon Matthews stunned the nation back in 2008, when it was revealed that the missing nine-year-old had been subjected to a fake kidnapping organised by her mother, Karen.

Now the team behind Bafta winning true-crime dramas Appropriate Adult and Mrs Biggs have turned their attention to the case in their drama The Moorside, named after the Dewsbury estate where Shannon grew up.

The two-parter, filmed in nearby Halifax, tells the story from the perspective of Karen Matthews’ close friend and neighbour Julie Bushby, played by Sheridan Smith, who led the community campaign to search for Shannon and kept her case in the media spotlight.

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‘It was a case that got under everyone’s skin at the time, and one that we had to look at very sensitively,’ says writer Neil McKay. ‘That’s why we don’t just tell the story of Shannon Matthews – we focus on the women on the estate who joined forces to find her.’