Jill Dando: A story of an investigation

Just watching the Jill Dando: A story of an investigation programme. Very interesting to see how different parts of the media interpreted the information and the events.

The suspected Serbian caller to TVC was very convincing. Do you think that the Serbs were responsible and that DCI Campbell and his team just pinned it on the local 'oddball'?

Just as a matter of interest the BBC trailers were promoting the show as if they were sure that Barry George was the killer and the programme would be proof of that but the actual programme has just presented the information to us about him. The case being that the programme was probably produced before the verdict came in.

Anyone elses thoughts on the show would be appreciated...

It will be interesting to see Tonight with Trevor McDonald err.... tonight ! They are showing a full dramatised reconstruction of the incident and the court case, now that must have been prepared well in advance !

One of the strange things I noticed about the BBC ONE special was they only mentioned the bloke found guilty after 7.30 (I may be wrong). I suppose if he was found not guilty, they would just play the first 30 minutes, or else the whole thing.

I could've sworn the V/O said he'd been found guility right at the start of the programme. But not sure now I think back...

Cheers, Asa

I don't know for sure, you may be right. It just seemed odd that the first 30 minutes were about her life, and at around 7.30 it turned to the killer.

The V/O was George Alagiah. Its amazing what the police have to do to actually track down a criminal!

Why do you think they chose George?

Who else would they have chosen?

I've just had a chance to watch the programme.

Congratulations to the Beeb for being critical of their coverage of the murder itself. I recall from the time - and would probably have been criticised in this forum, at the time if it existed, if I had expressed similar views - the reporting was too personel. Although the presenters had to acknowledge the shock they were going through. I think it was wrong, and agree with the author in the programme. Katie Aide's package should not have included the word 'I' in it. That would best have been suited to a live piece-to-camera.

It was undoubtedly a difficult time for the Beeb & its all very well discussing it in hindesight, but its hapened. It's like criticising the Met for their handling of the investigation. Although in both cases there are lessons to be learned for future cases, particularly on the part of the police.

Although during the trial I was under the impression that Barry George was a 'put-up' job by the police, I now see that combined with the circumstantial evidence that the jury were not privy to , the justice appears to have been delivered today.

The Serbian theory, though credible in appearance, was useful for the papers to fill the column inches. As we've been hearing in recent days with evidence from senior Serbian military officials, it appears that senior political figures, such as Tony Blair, were the targets of the regime. The Dando murder, and indeed the verdict, did not receive anywhere near as much international media attention as a fatal attack on a major building or poltical leader. The phone call to Tony Hall I believe was mere opportunism.

It was an excellent programme on the Beeb. I'm now awaiting the ITV programme, which I think will have less of an impact

(Edited by SkyNews at 9:29 pm on July 2, 2001)

[I]SIDE NOTE: Why wasn't this posted in the thread I had already created on the Dando verdict.

I've just seen that ITN as showing shots of George as a stunt dare-devil!

Because I'm very meticullous about where I post things and felt that your topic was highlighting the verdict and asking whether there would be a newsflash. Where as this thread is about the programme.

I only mention this because of yesterday's trouble