The Moorside.

I thought the acting in this programme excellent and the 2 central female characters who were organising the search came across as strong women with a sense of community. It's a very sad story all round though . I read a piece in a paper last weekend which said that Shannon had a good foster family and new identity.

I also thought it was very well acted. So sad that a mum could do something so stupid. I feel sorry for the whole family and hope the children are being well cared for. Poor Karen has also lost everything. Very sad situation

I am afraid the sort of parents like Karen Matthews are more likely in poor run down areas where many residents lack resources, or the motivation etc to manage their lives.
Often in this group there is a history of low IQ and a history of neglect and abuse in the upbringing of the parents.

In reality I feel sorry for the Karen Matthews of this world, who it seems, did not stand much of a chance from the beginning of their lives.

That does not mean that I would be inclined to trust their parenting unless they show real signs of improvement.

This is a "walk a mile" in someone else's shoes situation.

I'm not sure I agree with your last sentence, Nelliemoser.

Whlst Karen Matthews was obviously part of the disadvantaged group you refer to, she played her part in the kidnap of her own daughter very well and fooled an awful lot of people. She appeared to be motivated solely by greed and had scant regard for Shannon's feelings and safety, which is why the community turned against her when the plot was uncovered.

I don't believe other people would act as she did, however many miles they walked in her shoes.

No, nor do I, low IQ or not, she did fool a lot of kind people and was a terrible Mother.

Karen Matthews knew exactly what she was doing and why. There's too much pseudo-psychology around these days trying to 'understand' and forgive the unforgivable.

That seems a bit harsh Anya!

I totally agree that Karen Mathewss knew exactly what she was doing. She has a very mild learning difficulty so she knows right from wrong. She was motivated by money and greed. If I accept she was manipulated by the boyfriend, she still knew what he was doing was wrong so I am afraid I have no sympathy for her at all, she bought it all on herself with her greed

Although I have no sympathy for Karen Matthews I felt very sad at the end of this.

There are no winners.

All we can hope for is that Shannon has a safe and secure future.

I watched both episodes with interest finding it strange that a mother couldn't recollect whether she'd had 6 children or 7!
Karen's motivation appeared to be money inspired by the huge publicity and funds behind the McCanns appeal.
It was clear from the beginning that the police were suspicious.
I have googled original footage of the case, the living quarters are filthy and as for Karen's story about the whole family sitting down for breakfast that morning, well, that is a travesty.
I just hope that Shannon was able to move on from this terrible episode.

I did feel sorry for her, I cannot imagine how some women will go from man to man because they either fear being alone or they crave love . This does not excuse what she did.

I read she is distressed this programme has been made because it has made her fearful, unless the full interview wasn't published she did not mention the hurt it could cause her children.

Sorry forget to add, her photograph has been in newspapers again because of this drama, the children surelyhave seen them.

In reality I feel sorry for the Karen Matthews of this world, who it seems, did not stand much of a chance from the beginning of their lives
According to something I read online, Karen Matthews's parents were bewildered by her lifestyle, were loving grandparents to her children and were devastated when they were not allowed to care for them and they were taken away to be adopted as they wanted to bring them up after the court case.

This may or may not be true, it was their version of events but sometimes, however you bring up a child, it goes on to lead a feckless life.

I just think it was really really wrong to make this at this time-we can't know but it could certainly have done damage, and certainly stirred things up for SM. I think it was irresponsible and unnecessary and I made a decision not to watch it as I felt it made me complicit in the 'wrongness'

Allegedly Shannon, when asked if she wanted to be returned to her mother's care, she replied "no". The drug that was used to subdue her during the period she had been held at the flat had been used prior to that whilst she was living with her mother. I think it would have been better for Karen Matthews children if they had been removed from her earlier.

The programme was very well acted without a doubt. I think Karen Matthews has served her time and should be left alone to rebuld her life.

I thought it was extremely well produced and was sympathetic to the community living in a deprived estate, having to deal with this terrible incident.

Was the child tested for drugs whilst living with her mother, and why would she be given the choice to return to live with her mother

I felt slightly guilty about watching the programmes because I agree, it's very early to be making a drama production about children who lived this experience. After watching the first episode, I did want to continue watching. Excellent cast, great acting from the four main female characters. The brief discussion between the two neighbours when each acknowledged their experience of childhood sexual abuse was telling. That discussion was framed by the arrest of the step father for having images of child sexual abuse on his lap top. The uncle holding S had lost custody of his own children because of sexual behaviour.

S would not have been given a choice about whether she went back to live with her mum. Neither would the other children. There would have been lengthy care proceedings during which the court would have been given detailed assessments of all family members who wanted to care for the children.

The neighbour and the police clearly asked the same question some posters here did about whether K and the uncle were bright enough to put this scam together.

The programme was, I think, well produced, and in my opinion for everyone's sake it would be good to put the whole business to bed, and not forget about it,(learn from it) but just remind ourselves that there are the children out there who might still be affected by the whole business.

I hope that this programme has not adversely affected the child concerned and her siblings and that their lives with adoptive parents give them the love, care and positive future their birth parents did not provide.

Despite misgivings about the appropriateness of this programme using real, identifiable names, I think the acting was excellent.

I enjoyed it, the actress who played Karen Mathews was excellent; I found myself warming to her, despite what she did.

I agree that the acting was superb.

AB I did say allegedly, if you google an article in The Guardian, entitled something like "Karen loved Shannon to bits" sorry no good at producing links, that mentions Shannon had been forced to take "Temazapan" for 2 years and I think I read at the time, observations from her school, that she would often fall asleep at her desk. She was asked if she wanted to see her mother after the kidnap and she said "no"

The question of a third party being behind this was left unanswered. I'm wondering if this was deliberate??

Who was clever enough to organise this?

Who stirred up all the community?

Who continued to visit Karen in prison?

just wondering