The Moorside

The Moorside Project Mini Series

Sheridan Smith and Gemma Whelan star in this two-part BBC drama that depicts events surrounding the infamous kidnapping of nine-year-old Shannon Matthews in February 2008. When Shannon is first reported missing from her home in the Moorside estate in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire by her mother Karen (Whelan) a massive manhunt by the police and local community ensues, generating a plethora of national media attention, substantial rewards and a high-profile publicity campaign. However, when she is eventually discovered by police nearly a month later in a flat belonging to Michael Donovan (Sam Chapman), the uncle of Karen's boyfriend Craig Meehan (Tom Hanson), the police begin their search for the truth.