Was Kate McCann really a suspect in the Madeleine McCann case?

More than 18 years after Madeleine McCann vanished from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, public fascination with the case has remained intense. Now, a new Channel 5 drama, Under Suspicion: Kate McCann, is revisiting one of the most controversial parts of the investigation: the moment Kate McCann, Madeleine’s mother, herself became a formal suspect.

The feature-length drama airs on 20 May at 9pm and focuses on the Portuguese police interviews that took place months after three-year-old Madeleine disappeared while her parents dined nearby with friends.

Here’s what actually happened, why Kate McCann was declared an ‘arguido’ (the Portuguese term for formal suspect) and the evidence detectives believed pointed towards the McCanns.

Kate, Gerry and their three children arrived in Portugal for a family holiday on 28 April 2007.

On the evening of 3 May 2007, Madeleine disappeared from the family’s ground-floor apartment in Praia da Luz while her parents were eating dinner with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant around 100 yards away.

Kate McCann raised the alarm at around 10pm after returning to the apartment and discovering Madeleine missing from her bed. The case quickly became one of the most high-profile missing child investigations in modern history.

Yes. Kate and Gerry McCann were both formally declared ‘arguidos’ by Portuguese police in September 2007 – around four months after Madeleine disappeared. Under Portuguese law, arguido status means someone is more than a witness but has not been charged with a crime.

At the time, detectives leading the Portuguese investigation increasingly believed Madeleine may have died accidentally inside the apartment and that her parents had covered it up, a theory the McCanns have always fiercely denied.

The couple were officially cleared in July 2008 when Portugal’s attorney general announced there was no evidence linking them to Madeleine’s disappearance. Prosecutors said there was “no element of proof whatsoever” supporting claims they were involved.

The Channel 5 drama explores several of the police theories and interview moments that fuelled suspicion around Kate McCann in 2007.

One of the biggest developments came after forensic dogs reportedly detected the scent of blood and cadaver odour in the McCanns’ holiday apartment and later inside a hire car that they rented weeks after Madeleine vanished.

Detectives also questioned inconsistencies they believed existed in witness statements from the McCanns and their friends.

Police reportedly challenged Kate over:

• Why her children had been left asleep while she joined other adults to eat dinner nearby
• Whether Madeleine could have died accidentally and her ‘disappearance’ was a cover-up
• Reports from neighbours who claimed they heard a child crying for an extended period on 1 May
• Discrepancies about sleeping arrangements in the apartment
• The family’s behaviour in the days after Madeleine disappeared

In the drama, Kate is shown telling police: “You’re bullying me. What are you trying to say?” after officers repeatedly suggest they do not believe her account.

According to reports at the time, Kate was questioned for more than seven hours. She later said detectives pressured her to confess to accidentally killing Madeleine in exchange for a reduced sentence.

Her lawyer reportedly advised her to answer “no comment” to many questions during the interrogation.

Portuguese investigators never produced conclusive evidence against Kate or Gerry McCann, but several pieces of circumstantial evidence became central to their suspicions.

Blood and cadaver dog alerts

Specialist sniffer dogs brought in from the UK allegedly detected traces linked to blood and cadaver scent in the apartment and later in a Renault Scenic hire car used by the McCanns weeks later.

However, the forensic evidence was heavily disputed and no definitive DNA result ever proved Madeleine had died in the apartment. The Portuguese attorney general later concluded there was insufficient evidence to support charges.

Neighbours hearing a child crying

One line of inquiry centred on reports from neighbours who claimed they heard a child crying in the apartment for around an hour on 1 May 2007 – two days before Madeleine disappeared. Kate McCann denied hearing prolonged crying.

Behaviour after Madeleine vanished

Some critics and investigators scrutinised the McCanns’ behaviour after Madeleine disappeared, including claims they played tennis the following day.

Kate later addressed the backlash in interviews and in her memoir, saying routine activities were encouraged as a coping mechanism during the search effort.

Seeking comfort with a priest

Police also reportedly viewed Kate asking to speak to a priest shortly after Madeleine vanished as suspicious, while supporters argued it was a completely understandable response from a distraught Catholic mother seeking comfort.

The star chart

The drama also references detectives questioning a reward chart used for Madeleine, with police allegedly suggesting it reflected punishment or controlling behaviour. Kate insisted it was simply a parenting tool designed to reward good behaviour.

Yes. Kate and Gerry McCann are both Catholics and their faith became a major part of how they coped after Madeleine disappeared. The couple regularly attended church services in Praia da Luz during the search and later met Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican.

Kate has previously spoken about relying heavily on prayer and religion throughout the investigation and media scrutiny and met with a priest shortly after Madeleine disappeared.

Kate and Gerry McCann met Pope Benedict XVI after Madeleine’s disappearance

The handling of the original Portuguese investigation has faced years of criticism. Reports emerged of major early investigative failings, including claims police failed to secure the apartment properly, contamination of forensic scenes and delays in border and vehicle checks after Madeleine disappeared.

The Channel 5 drama references allegations that officers failed to check vehicles leaving the area during poor weather conditions despite the urgency of the investigation.

Former lead detective Gonçalo Amaral was removed from the case in October 2007, according to a report by The Guardian, after publicly criticising British police.

Amaral later published a controversial book alleging Madeleine died in the apartment and accusing the McCanns of staging an abduction. The McCanns sued him for libel.

Separately, Amaral received an 18-month suspended sentence for falsifying evidence connected to another missing child investigation involving Joana Cipriano.

In 2022, Portuguese authorities formally named convicted German sex offender Christian Brueckner as a suspect in the case.

German investigators have said they believe Madeleine is dead and suspect Brueckner was responsible, although he has not been charged in connection with her disappearance and denies involvement. He was released from prison in late 2025, after serving a 15-year sentence for a rape he carried out in 2005 in Portugal (against an elderly woman).

Kate and Gerry McCann have never been charged with any offence relating to Madeleine’s disappearance and were officially cleared by Portuguese authorities in 2008. They continue to raise awareness of her case and say they’ll never stop looking for her, or give up hope.