Madeleine Was Here, Thursday 9pm, Channel 4

Posted by Jane Murphy

 

It's now two years since Kate and Gerry McCann's daughter Madeleine went missing from their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz - and a steady flow of stories and developments surrounding the case has dominated the news agenda over recent days.

We've watched the footage of Gerry returning to Portugal with two of the friends who were with the McCanns at the tapas bar on the night Madeleine went missing. We've seen the artist's impression of the "ugly" new suspect who was spotted watching the apartment in the days leading up to the little girl's disappearance. And we've seen the US experts' image of how Madeleine may look today (above).

So I hadn't expected to be particularly moved or enlightened by this Cutting Edge documentary - simply because I felt I was already familiar with the facts of the case. What more could it tell us? What else needs to be said?

What the programme gave us, however, was a revealing insight into how life has been for the family in the weeks leading up to the anniversary. Away from the carefully orchestrated media appearances, the McCanns seem far more relaxed and open - and much easier to relate to.

Kate has now given up her job as a GP to look after Madeleine's brother and sister, Sean and Amelie - as well as concentrate her efforts on the Find Madeleine campaign. Gerry is back at work as a hospital consultant. "We are far from normality, but we are closer to it than we once were," says Kate.

But the sadness, guilt and despair are never far away: this is a family living with the aftermath of a terrible experience that will never be resolved unless they find out what happened to Madeleine.

To many, their situation seems hopeless - but the McCanns continue to live in hope. "She's either out there or she's not - and there's nothing to say she's not out there," Gerry insists. "She's out there until proven otherwise."

Picture: PA

SEE ALSO:
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Madeleine: One Year On - our view >>
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Comments

[Janet]

Our children Want Madeleine
Returned Safely Home

Please watch ..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvaDS_Ttk3U

[sean]

picture this,your child has gone missing.you have a press meeting in germany and out of the blue a reporter asks "have you something to do with it"
do you
A/sit there and say no
or
B/dive over the table and rip there head off!!
if im wrong then im sorry but there is no way an adult with any common sence would leave children like that.i have read on here it is common practice to leave your children and go off to do selfish things,load of bull.we are talking children not dogs!!

[Col]

I pray to God that little Maddie is safe and whoever has her is treating her well. I have two beautiful ndaughters now 32 and 28 and two gorgeous grandchildren. When we went on holidays with my daughters years ago we would never have dreamed of leaving them alone and the world was a bit better place then. Maddies parents are now being treated as celeberaties while some people from less privileged backgrounds have been slated terribly in the press and have been prosecuted (rightly so) for leaving young children unattended but thankfully not having the same tragic circumstances. Why these two people have not been charged with neglect is beyond belief. Yes get all the publicity possible to try and find out what has happened to the poor little girl. Maddie is the victim who is suffering without the people who morally and legally should have been protecting her

[Bipin Sheth]

I saw the channel 4 and my first instinct was that your daughter is well and alive and she will be found before end of this year. Having seen the how she looks after 2 years this are my suggestion for you to act:
1) Go without announcing to the area where there are First schools and work with the Headmaster of the school to find any girls is aged between 5 & 6 years old and see them.
2) Try all schools in one country and than do the same and go to another country which you might think she might be captured.
I pray, she is found in good health and well before June 2009.

God helps in a mysterious ways and my heart says she will be re joined with her true family.
Let this be a lesson for us all.

[Amy]

Now they go on the media trail.. Are they starting to court the fame. Disgusting.

"When I last her, I had a loving father moment". If that was not for the media.......

While whoever took the poor girl is undoubtedly scum, leaving here alone was also a grievous error of judgement at the very least.

There is still other things to be considered about this case and yes someone knows who took Madeline but we also know who left her alone.

[Jo]

leaving children is something nobody can justify. just because they are now feeling guilty does not make it right. personaly i would never leave my child alone in this country never mind a forign one. that little girl would have been through hell and to be honest it is all there fault. no body can say its not because if they looked after there children properly they would have all 3 of them.

[Caitlin]

i really feel sorry for the twin brother and sister cause they wont know what happening. i hope they find her soon

[Belfast]

Dear K
Its got nothing to do with parents standards. It is illegal to abandon minors - and thats what they did!

[K]

Whether the parents are professionals or not is completely not an issue.
All parents know their own children and bring them up as they see fit, whether it's right or wrong by anyone elses standards.
The real issue that has been forgotten as always but will never be changed, people are getting away with kidnapping and killing children. If there was a better system where by the culprit was caught and given a punishment worth having this wouldnt be happening as much as it is. I have two children who thanks to the world we live in today am worried about going out to the park on their own due to what may be lurking around the corner. My children and any other shouldnt have to live in fear. Maybe the parents shouldnt have left their children on their own but what right did that person have to enter the families holiday room, where is he/she now? Should be hanging!
I hope that Maddy is somewhere safe and well, my thoughts go out to her.

[Anon]

I was abducted by a stranger when I was 10 years old, with a little resourcefulness and a lot of luck I managed to escape from him just as he tried to assault me. It makes me sad that so many people concentrate on how the parents are feeling - they are never going to suffer as much as she has.Even if she's returned to them tomorrow an experience like that would never leave her.

[Anon]

We do understand that nobody should ever have to deal with what the McCans are going through & it is easy to blame but look at it for what it is im an expectant mother myself but i know that i would never ever let my child out of my sight even for a second because just 1 second can change your life-WE as adults bring our children into this world, we spend all our time teaching them right from wrong-so tell me..what happens when Maddies brother&sister ask what happend to their sister- how are the McCans going to explain it to them-that mommy&daddy left all 3 of them alone & Maddie wondered off to find us & some bad person took her? ultimately they didnt grasp that it would be wrong to leave 3 small children in the apartment on their own in an unfamiliar country and come to some sort of conclusion that what if one of them woke us or heaven forbid needed us-which obviously beautiful Maddie did but suffered at the actions of her parents.

[Belfast]

Paul I'd hardly call your parents/guardian sleeping in the next room 'being alone' ?

[lesley]

at the end of the day the mccanns only want to find there daughter and they have to do anything in thier power to keep thier daughters memory alive so leave them alone

[amw]

20 Years ago parents all over the world did the same - taken children on holiday and leave them whilst they were in the hotel bar - right or wrong its very much a case of very bad judgement and they have paid the unlitimate price - everyone who is so quick to slander - remember irrelevant of what you think of gerry/kate - there is still a little girl missing and any publicty to find her is better than sitting back and arguing whos to blame.

[Anon]

Heart felt condolences for little maddie-but what parents would go on holiday and leave their children unattended-you wouldnt do it in this country so why do it holiday where you& your family are especially vulnerable?

[paul]

let correct those double negatives belfast.

let me point out also, that most children are on their own for eight hours every night.

perhaps we are all neglectfull

[Anon]

Did anyone notice the female friend (tapa crowd) state that Kate had wondered where Gerry was when he was gone a while and thought he had gone to watch the football. So where was he?

[Belfast]

Anita I think your a bit hard on Cynical cause i do not know any parents who take their kids on holiday and then leave them alone in accommodation. Your comment ' that neither of them had nothing to ' actually means they did!?! And why were they never charged with neglect?

[yvonne]

I agree with most of these comments, BUT why on earth did these " profesional" people leave 3 tiny children in a room on their own, any thing else could have happened to the poor babies, they could have chocked anything like that and what a thing to put on that little girls sholders. What if Maddie had not been taken and something happened to the 2 babies would her parants have blamed the child for the rest of her little life, YES i think they would have. Why did they no pay to have a baby sitter it is not like they could not afford it. with the way things have been going on in this world you would never leave children on their own in you home town let alone abroad, did they not remmember that poor little boy BEN. No. they should be ashamed of them selves.

Lets hope they find the little angel and then Katy and Gerry might start to think of their actions in the future.

EERY BODY IS THINKING OF YOU MADDIE and praying you will be found very soon.

[Ali]

Every time i hear the story of madeline my heart goes out to that little girl. I cannot bear to think what she went through or is going through. The parents will have to live with their bad decision to leave their 3 children (all under 4) alone in a foreign apartment. Their adult social life on that holiday appeared to be more important than guarding their children.However they are paying the price for that poor decision. They could have lost all 3 of their children.
I can feel kate and gerrys pain.

[Anna]

As a mother I have never left my child alone either in this country or abroad, it is just unthinkable. However, I am sure they must regret their mistake and will do for the rest of their lives and don't deserve to go through the pain they are going through now. I hope and pray that Maddie is found to put them out of this limbo, although as time goes on it is unlikely this will be the outcome. I cannot for one minute imagine the pain they must live every minute of every day and applaud the fact that they are trying to live as normal a life as possible for the sake of their other two children and for keeping this in the public eye. We must not forget about Maddie.

[Paul Rothwell]

If they are bad parents then so am I, i brought up three children and i cannot claim that they were never left fo a short time on their own, who can, if you walk into another room and they hurt themselves you are guilty.

i do not believe for one second that Kate and Jerry are guilty of anything more than making a bad decision and if you havent, you should write the book all parents need, let me know when you get to the stroppy teenager chapter i could do with the help.

i suspect in time that Maddys body will be discovered and the family will find some peace.

look at the mother accused of killing her baby in Australia, turned out after many years that the Dingo had taken it and she was released from prison

You people who want to accuse should be ashamed of yourselves, you disgust me with your lack of self control, inocent until proven otherwise is the foundation of our society

[Davie]

Lets just focus on a missing child and catch the bad person or persons who have done this to a small child as there are thousands of them out there.To bring closure for the family

[JH]

Hindsight's a wonderful thing. We can all ask 'why did they leave the children alone' but they have gone to hell and back. I just hope that one day soon they will find Madeleine.

[ferfuksake]

i take it cynicalsod that you are a pathetic lonely childless oaf!

[Anita J]

Cynicalsod - not brave enough to show your real name. If you had half a brain you would see that neither of them had nothing to do with the disappearance

[Anita J]

What is it with people judging Kate & Gerry. How many parents put kids to bed in hotel rooms, caravans, apartments, either to go down to the bar or sit with their friends in a next door or nearby apartment, loads of them do. Kate & Gerry were in a party of 8 that night & all their friends did the same. People that critise should take a look at their own lives & see what things they have done without thinking about the consequenses. The most important thing is to find out what happened to Madeline & bring her back home.

[leigh]

All i would say is i am sure they r living with the guilt to regards to leaving there children alone... and they will have to live with that mistake for the rest of their lives.i cant imagine the pain and torment they have gone through this past two years, and i truly hope they find their daughter, no parents should go through what they are going through just because of one bad mistake made by them... yes we all judge and we all say the children should never have been left alone in the first place, but whats happend as happend, all that matter now and always has mattered is to get madeline home and safe.

[Nikki]

Kate and Gerry McCann made a mistake, a fatal mistake but i can assure you they are not the only parents to have done or who will do so. the fact of the matter is, is that a little girl is out there somewhere in the world and needs to be found now! Maddie is the priority, not whether her parents had involvement in her dissapearance or not!

[naomi]

Where is your compassion?? oops you don't have any!! So cruel and so sad, Shame on you .. The Mcanns have gone through an horrific loss!!
Enjoy your daily mail!!

[Andy]

At the end of the day they should not have left the children alone. Would have been different if they weren't in high profile jobs, they would have had the others taken away by social svc's and may be in prison now.

[Darren]

I dont want to reopen the tired old debate of weather or not Kate ad Gerry were involved, the fact is young kids go missing all over the world, so should we not focus what can be done to reduce this and when these perverts are caught hand out the harshest penalties.

[Lynn]

years ago you left children in chalets at holiday camps with hankies tied to doors, so tat security could listen in. Who else was watching those children!No one slagged those parents off then.

[Pamela]

If the McCanns had done wrong, wy would they keep it in the public eye! THis is just very sad case of bad judgement leaving them on there own! And I am sure they will never forgive them selfs. As a mother of a little girl, it breaks my heart to think how they must feel, instead of critising, keep in your mind there is a little girl out there somewhere that NEEDS to come home!

[JULI]

SHOULD NEVER HAVE LEFT 3 CHILDREN UNDER FOUR YEARS OF AGE, UNBELIEVABLE, WHY HAVEN'T/DIDN'T THE MCCANNS GET PROSECUTED FOR NEGLECT? THEY HAVE GOT AWAY WITH MURDER(?)LITERALLY......WHO KNOWS.

[Kit]

They should feel guilty! they should never have left those young children alone in the first place!!

[D Connor]

What a thing to say.I have 3 young children and the thought of any one of them going missing etc.. is unthinkable regardless of the circumstances.People are so quick to blame others,don't you think they feel guilty enough without having to read your nastey comments.

[Cynicalsod]

Of course they looked relaxed and open - they,ve got away with it SO FAR!