Channel 5 - Harold Shipman (2014) Part 2 Catching Dr Death

Harold Shipman

On the tenth anniversary of his death, this two-part documentary claims to be the definitive account of Doctor Harold Shipman's notorious crimes. It certainly offers a thorough examination of how a respected pillar of the community was eventually exposed as Britain's most prolific serial killer. One of the most astonishing aspects of the case is how Shipman got away with it for so long. Despite being outed as a drug addict in the '70s, he only ever received a fine and a warning for his conduct. Most agree that he should've been struck off. And yet he continued to practice and prey upon his patients for years thereafter.

Filled with contributions from former colleagues and relatives of his victims, the programme also contains several dramatic reconstructions. So often the risible bane of true-crime documentaries, on this occasion they're relatively restrained.

Part 2: Catching Dr Death

The concluding edition of this two-part docu-drama looks at how Shipman covered his tracks and examines the unravelling of decades of lies that subsequently led to his conviction. In March 1998, staff at the local crematorium became suspicious of the deaths signed off by Shipman and alerted the coroner, but a police investigation was stopped after just three weeks. It was the subsequent death of Kathleen Grundy that triggered his downfall, and her daughter and son-in-law Angela and Phil Woodruff describe their reactions when they discovered that Shipman was bizarrely the sole benefactor of Kathleen's estate.

CH5

Full Version Available Upon Request