24 January 2023 , 14:15
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Netflix has announced an upcoming documentary on BBC presenter Jill Dando is in the works - 20 years after she was tragically shot dead.
The Crimewatch star was murdered outside her home in London in 1999, aged 37, in news that sent shockwaves through the UK.
A multi-part series chronicling Jill's life is now in production, with Netflix saying new interviews and research will be included.
The Jill Dando documentary will air later this year and will explore: “Dando’s life, career, legacy and what would become one of the most notorious unsolved murders of the 20th century”.
Barry George was arrested on suspicion of murder in 2000, a year after Jill was killed.
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He was convicted and imprisoned for eight years, however then acquitted and released after a retrial.
There have been many theories about who killed Jill with the case remaining open.
Netflix has announced it's making a documentary about BBC presenter Jill Dando (SWNS)
Barry George was imprisoned for Jill's murder but then acquitted and released (PA)One claim suggested Jill was killed in a case of mistaken identity by a Russian hitman who meant to target another BBC journalist.
Another theory is that the Crimewatch presenter was murdered by a stalker.
Jill's time in the limelight and large following led police to question whether a member of her fan base had been responsible for her death.
Jill presented Crimewatch on the BBC
Former BBC Crimewatch presenter Nick Ross paid tribute to his late colleagueAround 140 people who were 'obsessed' with the star were identified by police, including those who had sent her sexually explicit fan mail.
After her tragic death, Jill's former colleague and Crimewatch presenter Nick Ross campaigned for the Jill Dando Institute (JDI) of Crime Science at University College London in her memory.
The JDI offers courses aimed at police, researchers and information officers as well as teaching undergraduate and post-graduate programmes about how to stop crime.
There are many theories about Jill's murder (PA)
Jill with her partner Alan Farthing in 1998 (Alan Davidson/REX/Shutterstock)When Nick collected a CBE at Windsor Castle in February 2022, he dedicated the honour to his colleague and paid tribute to his “utterly committed” late co-host.
He said: “She was, I think like me and like other people involved in the show, changed by meeting more and more of the victims. But she was utterly committed to the show.”
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He added that the programme’s success was partly due to his “wonderful co-presenter”.
The star was one of the most high profile presenters on the BBC (Rex Features)As well as working on Crimewatch, Jill also fronted travel show Holiday and The Antiques Inspectors.
She began as a reporter at her local paper The Weston Mercury in Somerset, before moving to the morning programme Breakfast Time, which later became BBC Breakfast.
The Jill Dando documentary is directed by Marcus Plowright, known for Fred And Rose West: Reopened and executive produced by Emma Cooper, who worked on The Mystery Of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes.