669 Crimewatch

First  viewed : 7  June  1984

Crimewatch  ( originally  Crimewatch  UK )  was  a  programme  that  immediately  caught  my  attention,  tapping  into  the  vigilante  ambitions  that  lie  dormant  in  anyone  who's  been  bullied  a  bit. I  always  watched  it  with  the - still  unfulfilled -  hope  that  I  would  see  someone  I  recognised  and  help  nail  the  bastard. I  guess  I  don't  move  in  the  wrong  circles.

The  show's  most  famous  presenter was  Breakfast  Time's  earnest  Nick  Ross  whose  stint  on  the  show  lasted  23  years.  His  catchphrase  "Please  don't  have  nightmares"  was  much-lampooned  but  nailed  his  appeal  as  a  reassuring  presence. Sue  Cook  was  his  co-presenter  until  1995  when  she  was  succeeded  by  the  ill-fated  Jill  Dando  whose  still-unsolved  murder  four  years  later  may  have  been  connected  with  the  programme. Fiona  Bruce  eventually  took  over  her  chair.

The  show  was  on  monthly  and  featured   three  or  four  reconstructions , necessarily  with  the  violence  toned  down  a  bit , providing  a  good  source  of  work  for  little-known  actors.  Dando's  killing  itself  was  a  featured   reconstruction  but   that  wasn't  in  any  way  responsible  for  the  wrongful  conviction  of  Barry  George.  Serving  police  officers  presented  a  short  section  where they  had  photographs  from  the  crime  or  pictures  of  known  offenders  being  sought. There  was  also  the  Aladdin's  Cave  section   where  an  antiques  expert  would  trawl  through  a  selection  of  stolen  property, a  feature  I  felt  fitted  in  like  a  stone  in  a  shoe,  but  I  suppose  it  served  a  purpose. Viewers  were  given  numbers  to  ring  if  they  could  help  with  any  of  the  cases  and  later  in  the  evening  there  was  Crimewatch  Update   where  Nick  would  tell  you   the  lines  were  still  hot  with  useful  information  though  obviously  he  couldn't  give  any  details.

Many  police  forces  were  extremely  sceptical  about  the  value  of  the  programme  and  initially  only  three  would  co-operate  but , once  the  show  could  boast  one  or  two  successes,  they  all  came  round  and  interviews  with  the  senior  detective  on  the  case  became  a  regular  part  of  the  show. I  can't  remember  the  name  of  the  one  who  came  out  with  the  pearler  that  "Very  often,  the  last  person  to  see  the  victim  alive  is  the  murderer"   but  I'm  sure  he   must  have  been  promoted  for  that  telling  insight.

We'll  cover  the  Crimewatch  File  spin-offs  in  a  separate  post.

I  watched  it  regularly  in  the  eighties  and  nineties,  less  so  after  I  got  married  and  I  don't  think  I've  seen  it  since  Ross  and  Bruce  left  in  2007. It's  been  less  high  profile  since  their  departures  and  has  only  gone  out  every  other  month. but  still  continues.