The Trial: A Murder in the Family – C4’s new show sees a fictional murder case tried in a real court

The show gives an unprecedented insight into the inner workings of the British judicial system
Tried and tested: C4's new drama will see a fictional case put through a real court
Channel 4

From 1957’s Twelve Angry Men all the way to 2016’s Netflix hit The People vs OJ Simpson and the compelling cross-examination scenes from BBC’s Rochdale grooming drama Three Girls, there’s a long tradition of gripping court room dramas.

In recent years, Channel 4 has been developing that tradition with director Nick Holt, injecting a bit more realism into the genre. In 2013, the broadcaster aired The Murder Trial, a documentary focusing on a high-profile Scottish court case from opening statements to jury’s verdict.

The programme won the director a BAFTA and this time he’s back with another inside look at the British legal system.

This time, working in partnership with fellow director Kath Mattock who also picked up a BAFTA for her 2013 confession-based drama Murder, Holt is creating a hybrid drama-documentary which will follow a fictional murder case through a real trial.

The five-part series will show Simon Davis in the dock, accused of his estranged wife Michelle’s murder. Though Davis and other witnesses are played by actors, the defence and prosecution lawyers, the judge presiding and the jury deciding his fate are all real.

The show’s makers have gone to great lengths to make the process as realistic as possible, with the case being held in a disused court in Newark.

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Holt and Mattock have also persuaded imminent QCs to be involved (including John Ryder who worked on the Damilola Taylor case heading up the defence team) and appointed a 12-member jury consisting of randomly-selected residents from the local area.

We’ll also get to see the deliberation process in full as the jury try to reach a verdict, but you’ll have to tune in to find out whether it’s guilty or innocent.

The Trial: A Murder in the Family will air over five consecutive evenings, with the first episode on Channel 4 on Sunday at 9pm.

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