CHANNEL 4 is making a documentary on the Dunblane massacre to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the tragedy next year.
The BBC has already announced it will be doing its own programme, which will also mark three decades since 16 pupils and a teacher were killed by a gunman at Dunblane Primary School.
But I can reveal the Channel 4 one will have special meaning for its creators.
A TV insider said: “It is being made by production company Candour whose founder, Anna Hall, grew up in the Scottish town that was hit by the tragedy on March 13, 1996.
“So it will be imbued with real poignancy and, of course, it will be handled with extreme sensitivity.”
Chief Creative Officer Anna’s first ever film was about the tragedy — Dunblane: Remembering our Children premiered on ITV on the first anniversary of the shootings in 1997.
The programme was nominated for numerous awards including the RTS Best Single Documentary, an Emmy and a Prix Italia.
Now she and the rest of the Candour team — who also made the recent C4 documentary about the death of Jay Slater — are taking another look at the events of that dark day.
The massacre, which also left 15 people injured, remains the deadliest mass shooting in British history and led to a change in the law prohibiting the possession of most handguns in the UK.
Shooting
Last week the BBC announced it had commissioned a one-off hour-long documentary called Dunblane: The Shooting that Changed Britain.
Made by IWC Media it also looks at what happened in Dunblane, as well as the effect it had on the law.
Channel 4 have yet to confirm the commissioning of its documentary, though it is expected to be filmed this autumn, ready for broadcast in March.
Queen Elizabeth places a floral bouquet in front of Dunblane Primary School[/caption]
Vigil for third series
THE third series of BBC thriller Vigil sees Rose Leslie and Suranne Jones joined by newcomers Jeppe Beck Laursen, Tornike Gogrichiani and Steven Miller.
DCI Silva and DI Longacre head to an Arctic research station, where a special forces operative has been killed.
Top Bill in Caddy Craic
Bill Murray is heading to Ireland for a new BBC travelogue[/caption]
HOLLYWOOD star Bill Murray is heading to Ireland for a new BBC travelogue.
The six-parter will see Ghostbusters and Caddyshack legend Bill and celeb pals tour the Emerald Isle’s top golf courses.
Insiders say the show’s about life, chance encounters and the joy of going off course.
Bill said: “I started out caddying, and golf was the best education I ever received. Ireland feels like the right place to put all that to work.
“They’ve got this wonderful word there, ‘craic,’ which means fun, but it means a lot of other things. A lot of good things. And this show will be about us finding it.”
Off Course (working title) is on BBC Two later this year.
Gemma future secured
HOLLYOAKS actress Gemma Bissix has signed a new contract to stay on the E4 soap after her explosive comeback as Clare Devine.
Incorrect rumours claimed she had quit but a source told me: “Gemma recently finished filming her first stint back as Clare – but she will be back after a short break.”
