The Disappearance of Shannon Matthews Episode Rating Graph

Concluding the documentary about the disappearance of nine-year-old Shannon Matthews in 2008, an investigation that gripped the nation. Her mother Karen claimed that her daughter had gone missing on the way home from school, prompting a nationwide search. But weeks later, it was revealed that Karen had known the truth all along - in a hoax kidnapping, Shannon was being kept hidden by a man known to her mother, who had plotted to claim the £50,000 reward money for her return.

First in a two-part documentary about the disappearance of nine-year-old Shannon Matthews in Yorkshire in 2008, an investigation that gripped the nation, which turned out to be hoax kidnapping plot devised by her mother. Featuring exclusive interviews with Shannon's best friend, members of the local community, and the police officers who eventually found her, the programme reveals the remarkable truth of what really happened.