Boyd Hilton.
“It's 20 years this week since the death of TV presenter Jill Dando, so it's no wonder ITV is following on from BBC1’s recent The Murder of Jill Dandowith its own documentary. Where the BBC programme meticulously avoided any kind of sensationalist tone, this one has some fairly melodramatic music and narration, but nevertheless has new access to the case files, and catches up with Barry George, who was wrongly convicted of the crime, as well as some of Jill’s close friends, including Sir Cliff Richard.
Julie Etchingham who knew Dando when they worked together at the bbc does a good job of putting the truly shocking story in context.
Thursday 25/04/19
Jill Dando: The 20 Year Mystery (ITV, 9pm)
Richard Jones
“Tomorrow marks the 20-year anniversary of Jill Dando’s death. But two decades on, the murder of the much-loved TV presenter remains unsolved, and her killer is still at large.
Following on from the BBC film earlier this month, this documentary, the latest in ITV’s Crime and Punishment season, sees reporter Julie Etchingham look deeper into one of the highest-profile murder cases of modern times.
Jill, from Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, was one of the best-known faces on British television during the 1990s.
She presented the news, and from 1995 onwards, was the host of Crimewatch. In 1997, she was awarded the BBC Personality of the Year.
On April 26, 1999, Jill was shot dead on the doorstep of her home in Fulham, West London. She was 37 years old.
Her body was discovered by neighbour Helen Doble, and forensic studies showed she was killed by a single shot to her temple fired from a 9mm semi-automatic pistol.
Neighbours did not hear the gunshot and the only confirmed sighting of the killer was by Jill’s next-door neighbour Richard Hughes, who described a six-foot-tall white man aged around 40 walking away from the scene.
Within six months of the murder, more than 2,500 people had been spoken to and police had taken more than 1,000 statements.
Eventually, attention was focused on a man who lived about half a mile from her home, who had a history of stalking women and sexual offences.
Following a trial at the Old Bailey, Barry George was convicted of the crime, however, after eight years in prison, he was acquitted.
The case was reopened, but there have been no new arrests since then.
Now with access to hundreds of documents and photos, Etchingham reveals the theories and leads related to the case which have mystified the police for two decades.
The programme includes interviews with one of Jill’s best friends, as well as George and his sister Michelle.
One of the first theories to gain traction focused on Dando’s job presenting Crimewatch.
Some speculated that her visible role on a show that had led to countless criminals ending up behind bars made her a target.
In 1996 Kenneth Noye was sentenced to life in prison for a road rage killing with the help of a Crimewatch appeal.
According to a report from the now defunct National Criminal Intelligence Service, a barman called Joe owed Noye money and may have opted to settle his debts by killing Dando.
Another theory again argues that Jill was targeted for her Crimewatch job, but the establishment did track down the killer.
Wayne Aird, who was serving a life sentence in prison for killing a man two months after Dando’s shooting, reportedly confessed to being part of what he said was an "establishment cover-up".
Other possible explanations have related to Dando’s attempts to expose a VIP paedophile ring at the BBC, and the scenario that an obsessed member of her fanbase was responsible for her death.
Finally, in the days and weeks leading up to Dando’s assassination, Nato forces were bombing Serbia as part of the Kosovo War.
A man with an Eastern European accent called the BBC the day after the shooting and claimed that it was a revenge killing.
Over the past two decades, it has become increasingly doubtful that Jill’s killer will be brought to justice.
As her brother Nigel Dando said in an interview on Lorraine a few weeks ago: "I doubt we will ever know now because of the passage of time."
Although the years may have decreased the chances of the police catching the killer, this programme and its BBC predecessor has proven that the impact of and public interest in this tragic case is as strong as ever.
https://www.bromleyboroughnews.co.uk/article.cfm?id=130700&headline=TV%20highlights%20from%20Saturday%20April%2020§ionIs=news&searchyear=2019