Trevor McDonald
TV

ITV confirm new air date for Trevor McDonald’s Fred and Rose West documentary

It was cancelled last month

Axed documentary Fred and Rose West: The Real Story with Trevor McDonald has been put back into the TV schedules.

Millions of fans were left re-checking their televisions last month when the show was pulled one hour before it was due to air on Thursday January 31 at 9pm on ITV.

ITV tweeted that the documentary had been postponed “for legal reasons”, and viewers were shown a repeat of Death Row with Trevor McDonald instead.

Fans were unhappy about the schedule change, with one tweeting: “Surely if it’s been postponed for legal reasons, you’d have known about it before. Disappointed is an understatement.”

Another said: “Bad form ITV… Bad form. Surely you would have all of the legalities sorted well in advance of the scheduled broadcast time. Very unprofessional.”

Others said they were “fuming”, while many revealed they’d been “looking forward to watching the show all day”.

But now it’s been revealed ITV will air the show on Thursday February 21 at 9pm.

Read more: Fred and Rose West documentary postponed for legal reasons

Trevor was due to uncover more details about the killer couple (Credit: ITV)

Fred and Rose West was one of the most shocking cases in criminal history. Between 1967 and 1987 the couple tortured, raped and murdered at least 12 women before burying them in their home – dubbed the Gloucester House of Horrors.

Their crimes went undetected for 20 years and included the prolonged abuse and eventual murder of their own daughter Heather.

The pair were finally caught in 1994 after the remains of nine bodies were found at Cromwell Street.

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Fred and Rose murdered at least 12 women and girls (Credit: Rex/Shutterstock)

Fred took his own life while awaiting trial in January 1995.

Rose was convicted of 10 murders and sentenced to life in prison. She has always denied any involvement in the crimes and is currently said to be planning an appeal.

The programme is set to feature exclusive interviews 25 years on from the shocking crime, including with the families of some of the murder victims who have never spoken before.

The sisters of victim Juanita Mott, Mary-Ann Mitchell and Belinda Mott appeared on This Morning last week and spoke to Holly Willoughby and Phil Schofield about their devastation after the death of their sister, and called for the death penalty.

The sisters say the family will never get over Juanita’s death (Credit: ITV)

Read more: Sisters of Fred and Rose West victim appear on This Morning

Mary-Ann said: “We go to work and pay our taxes to help keep this country funded – and keep her in the lap of luxury – she gets three square meals a day, a nice warm roof over her head, a comfy bed. There’s people on the streets that deserve more money than she does.

“I’d like to see her rot in hell if I’m perfectly honest. And I hope when her girlfriend gets released from prison it rips Rose’s heart out because she’ll never get out. And if she did I’m sure there’d be a queue waiting.”

Phil asked Belinda if she felt the same and she said: “Yes, that or a very slow electric chair.”

Mary-Ann added: “This is where I feel the death penalty is needed, when there is no doubt. There is no doubt at all that she was involved.”

The sisters also said they felt cheated when Fred took his own life: “We didn’t get the justice, yes he would have ended up in prison, but still cheated. But then part of me is glad he’s not on this earth breathing the same air that we are,” Mary-Ann said.

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Carena Crawford
Associate Editor (Soaps)

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