At the end of August 2023, Netflix announced it was releasing a new documentary about the tragic murder of Jill Dando. It revisits the shocking murder of the beloved broadcaster in 1999, which continues to mystify experts as well as members of the public.
The documentary arrives on the streaming platform on 26 September, and while many viewers will remember the case well, there will also be lots of people interested in the story who are too young to know who Jill was. So who was Jill Dando and why has murder proved to difficult to solve? Here's what we know so far.
Who was Jill Dando?
Jill Wendy Dando was an English journalist, TV presenter and newsreader. She spent most of her career at the BBC and won the award for the BBC's Personality of the Year in 1997.
At the time of her death, aged 37, Jill was engaged to gynaecologist Alan Farthing. She died on 26 March 1999 and their wedding was set to take place on 25 September that year.
When is 'Who Killed Jill Dando?' on Netflix?
The documentary 'Who Killed Jill Dando' is on Netflix from Tuesday 26 September.
What were the circumstances surrounding Jill Dando's death?
Many people who've heard about the upcoming documentary will find themselves wondering, 'how did Jill Dando die?'. And the answer is under very tragic circumstances.
Jill was shot dead on her doorstep in Fulham, prompting the biggest murder inquiry conducted by the Metropolitan Police and the UK's largest criminal investigation since the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper.
Who was Jill Dando's killer?
The most troubling part of Jill Dando's murder case is that it remains unsolved. In 2001, a man named Barry George was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder, but after eight years in prison he was acquitted following an appeal and retrial. No other suspects have ever been charged.
Why was Jill Dando killed?
Since Jill Dando's murderer was never found or convicted, no one knows the motivations behind the attack. However, it's likely the documentary will go into all potential lines of investigation and explore the various theories behind why Jill was chosen as a target.
What does the Netflix documentary 'Who Killed Jill Dando?' reveal?
It's unsurprising that Jill's tragic murder has been made into a documentary since it came as such a shock to journalists – many of whom were her colleagues – around the world.
The documentary’s executive producer Emma Cooper told The Independent that she remembers where she was when she heard the news. 'I was working in the BBC as a researcher, so I was in the White City building, which is in Shepherd’s Bush. I was in the same department as Crimewatch. And I remember just hearing it ripple around the building. This was before social media, so we were just getting hearsay, and we weren’t sure what was going on.'
Who Killed Jill Dando? even shows footage of Jennie Bond, Jill's BBC News colleague, having to announce her co-worker’s death live on television.
It also features interviews with the senior investigating officer on the case, members of Jill's family and Barry George – the man wrongly convicted of her murder. It's said that everyone featured in the documentary has their own theory of how and why Jill was killed.
What have Jill Dando's family said about the documentary?
The team behind the documentary made sure they had Jill's family's blessing before going ahead with the project. Jill's brother Nigel, who features in the episode, told The Independent, 'It might just jog somebody’s memory as to what they were doing on the day: they may have a vital piece of information that they didn’t think was important, or they prefer to keep hidden,' he said.
'They may have known the perpetrator; or whoever killed Jill themselves may be watching, and even after 24 years, although I’m not holding out too much hope, they may just suffer a prick of conscience and put their hands up and say, "Yeah, it was me."'