Yahoo News Sheridan Smith To Star In A Docudrama About Abduction Of School Girl Shannon Matthews
Sheridan Smith is taking on the role of Julie Bushby in a traumatic docudrama based on the real life abduction of nine-year old Shannon Matthews, which turned out to be an elaborate hoax.
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Julie Bushby was the chair of the residents and tenants association on the Moorside estate in Dewsbury, West Yorks. She was responsible for organising the local community in their desperate bid to find the missing schoolgirl.
The drama will focus on the impact that it had on the community when they discovered that the 24-day disappearance, of which they had been searching for missing Shannon, was in fact a plot that had been organised by the girl’s mother.
The former ‘Cilla’ star, 34, said about the two-part drama currently titled ‘The Moorside Project’: "The story is a fascinating mixture of what I thought I knew and a whole lot more I had no idea about.
“The themes of faith and trust in human nature, and the way the whole community came together really inspired me.“
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Writer Neil McKay added: “This drama takes us into the heart of a story and a community that was defined more by prejudice than genuine understanding. It has been a privilege to research and write. To have the story brought to life by such an outstanding cast, led by the extraordinary Sheridan Smith, is a truly thrilling prospect.”
Other stars that have signed up included former ‘Downton Abbey’ actress Siobhan Finneran, who will take the role of family liaison officer Christine Freeman, and ‘Games of Thrones’ star Gemma Whelan who will play Shannon’s shamed mother Karen.
As well as Sian Brooke, who starred as Ophelia opposite Benedict Cumberbatch in Hamlet, playing the part of Natalie Brown, the friend whom Karen stayed with whilst the search for her child took place.
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A manhunt was sparked in 2008 when Shannon Matthews, aged nine at the time, went missing. She was later found residing at the home of her mother’s boyfriend’s uncle, Michael Donovan, who lived less than a mile away.
The youngster was taken into care along with her six siblings, while her mother and Donovan were jailed for eight years for organising the kidnapping in an attempt to generate money.
They served just half of their eight-year sentences before being released in 2012.
