The Sun has sold a video documentary about the disappearance of Madeleine McCann to Channel 4 in a first deal of its kind for the tabloid publisher.
The move comes amid major investment in video at The Sun. Last week the title announced that political editor Harry Cole has been made editor-at-large, based in the US, to host a new nightly TV show produced with Red Seat Ventures and broadcast live on Youtube.
Madeleine McCann: The Unseeen Evidence was produced by The Sun with support from ITN Productions. It follows a year-long investigation by Sun journalist Rob Pattinson uncovering new evidence around Christian B, a suspect in the 2007 disappearance of the British three-year-old in Portugal. Christian B’s surname cannot be published because of German privacy laws.
The documentary features an interview with rape survivor Hazel Behand who believes Christian B was her attacker, despite him being found not guilty in court. It also promises to reveal previously unseen evidence against Christian B.
Sun director of video Jon Lloyd said: “It’s been refreshing to produce such high-quality, ground-breaking content whilst also exploring brand new ways of working with key partners. The process with both ITN Productions and Channel 4 has been hugely collaborative and the final film a tribute to the incredible journalism at its heart.
“I am really looking forward to exploring further opportunities across our rapidly-expanding video portfolio, fostering new relationships and continuing to deliver fresh, original content across all platforms.”
The film was directed by Sun special video projects lead Max Molyneux. It will be broadcast at 9pm on Channel 4 and be available on the More 4 streaming platform. An alternative version will be made available on The Sun’s Youtube channel.
The Sun has more than six million subscribers on Youtube and claims to have delivered 1.7 billion video views in the first quarter of 2025 with shows including football-focused Tactics Exposed, Ukraine programme The Frontline, Royal Exclusive, fighting brand No Gloves Lost, cooking show Feed The Fam and Date Delete Repeat.
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