Police chief who claimed Madeleine McCann is dead in new documentary
A controversial new Netflix documentary claims Madeleine McCann might still be alive and could be being held by people traffickers - 12 years after she disappeared.
The eight-part series called 'The Disappearance Of Madeleine McCann' was commissioned in 2017 as the true crime genre exploded with TV shows such as Making A Murderer.
But the missing toddler's parents Kate and Gerry have refused to take part in the show, with sources claiming they are 'horrified' it is being made without their approval.
It has also been subject to delays and industry insiders feared it could have been cancelled over a lack of new material.
Clarence Mitchell, the family's former spokesman, told The Guardian: 'Kate and Gerry and their wider family and friends were approached some months ago to participate in the documentary.
'Kate and Gerry didn't ask for it and don't see how it will help the search for Maddie on a practical level, so they chose not to engage.
The programme will include interviews with top British police officer Jim Gamble, who claims the case will be solved 'within his lifetime'.
The senior child protection officer in the UK's first investigation into the youngster's disappearance, said: 'I absolutely believe that in my lifetime we will find out what has happened to Madeleine McCann.
'There's huge hope to be had with the advances in technology. Year on year DNA is getting better. 'Year on year other techniques, including facial recognition, are getting better.
'And as we use that technology to revisit and review that which we captured in the past, there's every likelihood that something we already know will slip into position.
But other experts featured in the documentary believe the youngster is more likely to have been 'kept alive' by traffickers due to her financial value as a 'middle-class British girl'.
Private investigator Julian Peribanez, who was hired by the McCann family suggests that traffickers 'usually go for lower-class kids from third world countries'.
He said: 'That's the main supplier of these gangs. The value that Madeleine had was really high because if they took her it's because they were going to get a lot of money.'.
The documentary also hears from the former Portuguese police chief, who claimed the youngster is dead and that her parents faked her kidnap in one of the key interviewees of the new Netflix movie about the missing girl.
The streaming giant is due to trial the show today with the first programme in the series - already predicted to be a huge global hit - going live on Friday.
The company was locked in crisis talks and even considered shelving it but has decided 'the show must go on.
The McCanns, who refused to take part in the project and declined to watch a preview, will be infuriated that their tormentor Goncalo Amaral - 'a thorn in our sides' - is set to be starring in it.
The couple, who are still challenging a libel win by the ex Portuguese detective in the highest court in the land, will be 'horrified to learn' that the worldwide streaming service has interviewed the retired officer.
He accused them of covering up their daughter's accidental death in a holiday apartment nearly 12 years ago.
A friend of the McCann's said last night: 'Kate and Gerry will be mortified and horrified to learn that one of the lead roles has gone to Mr Amaral who has caused them so much extra hurt and pain over the years.
He has been a thorn in their sides since the very beginning.'.
Mrs McCann in her 2011 heart wrenching best seller book 'Madeleine' writes about Mr Amaral: 'That man has caused us so much upset and anger because of how he has treated my beautiful Madeleine and the search to find her.
'Here was a person who had been entrusted with finding our little girl and who failed her.
But Oscar-winning Netflix is boasting the new show has 'riveting' new interviews with key investigators as the 12th anniversary of the world's most famous missing child cases approaches in May.
MailOnline first exclusively revealed that Kate and Gerry wanted 'nothing to do with' the drama which has cost up to a reported £20 million.
They spoke out after the Home Office confirmed it was considering a new request for extra funding from Scotland Yard to continue the hunt for Maddie - giving them hope there is 'still work left to be done.
Three-year-old Maddie vanished from a holiday apartment in Portugal's Praia da Luz in May 2007 while her parents were dining with pals in a nearby tapas restaurant.
She had been left sleeping alone with her younger twin siblings Sean and Amelie with regular half hourly checks being made on the children.
Her parents cling onto a glimmer of hope their eldest child could still be found alive. She would now be aged 15, nearly 16. The entire McCann family, holiday friends, British police and UK private investigators have also snubbed the venture.
Maddie's parents had received numerous requests from producers Pulse Films over the past 18 months.
A source close to the movie makers, which scooped three awards at last month's Oscars for Roma, which follows the life of a live-in housekeeper of a middle-class family in Mexico City - said: 'Everyone everywhere is fascinated by the Maddie story.
'We would have welcomed the opportunity of working with the McCanns directly but they informed us they couldn't and wouldn't consider taking part while a police investigation is into their daughter's abduction is ongoing.
'But we have interesting new interviews with people close to the inquiry and we believe we can give justice to this unbelievably tragic story. An insider at Pulse Films said: 'Netflix are hoping it will be a massive hit.
The search for Maddie - who was just nine days away from her fourth birthday - has become the most high-profile missing person investigation in history. The youngster's face in iconic pictures is recognisable around the world.
Netflix has had a string of successful true crime documentaries including hit documentary Making A Murderer on wrongly jailed American student Amanda Knox for British student Meredith Kercher's murder.
And the streaming service scooped three gongs at the Oscars for Best Director for Roma, Best Cinematography and Foreign Language Film while being nominated for Best Picture.
Film makers have made several trips to the family's village to speak to locals and have also interviewed journalists who have been covering the story over the years.
The McCann's have so far failed in their long running court battle to silence Mr Amaral over claims he made against them.
They were left angry and disappointed after Portugal's top court threw out their libel claim against the ex cop in January 2017. They vowed to contest the judgement, slamming it as 'terrible.'.
Kate, now a medical worker, had previously said that Mr Amaral's poisonous words had been 'very upsetting and incomprehensible. ' She added: 'It has caused a lot of frustration and anger which is a real negative emotion.
Victorious Mr Amaral said: 'I'm pleased I have a court ruling which defends the freedom of expression. The Policia Judiciaria inspector led the initial bungled hunt for Maddie but was later pulled off the case after criticising British police assisting.
In his once banned book Mr Amaral claims Maddie accidentally died in an accident at the holiday flat or by being given an overdose of sedatives. It is based on statements from Portuguese police files which are open to the public.
Maddie's parents fiercely denied his allegations. In their original 36-page writ they described Mr Amaral as a self obsessed, manipulative money-grabber and accuse him of libel and breaching their and their now 14-year-old twins human rights.
The divorcee, 59, has since blamed Kate and Gerry for wrecking his marriage and his career by taking legal action against him in June 2009. How the disappearance of Maddie McCann has unfolded over 11 years.
2007. May 3: Gerry and Kate McCann leave their three children, including Maddie, asleep in their hotel apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, as they eat with friends in a nearby restaurant.
When they return, they find Maddie missing from her bed. May 4: A friend of the McCanns reports of seeing a man carrying a child away in the night. Meanwhile, airports and borders are put on high alert as search gets underway.
May 14: Robert Mural, a property developer who lives a few yards from the hotel, is made a suspect by Portuguese police. May 30: The McCanns meet the Pope in Rome in a bid to bring worldwide attention to the search.
August 11: Police in Spain acknowledge for the first time in the investigation that Maddie might be dead. September 7: Spanish police make the McCanns official suspects in the disappearance. Two days later the family flies back to England.
2008. July 21: Spanish police remove the McCanns and Mr Mural as official suspects as the case is shelved. 2009. May 1: A computer-generated image of What Maddie could look like two years after she disappeared is released by the McCanns.
2011. May 12: A review into the disappearance is launched by Scotland Yard, following a plea from then-Home Secretary Theresa May. 2012.
April 25: After a year of reviewing the case, Scotland Yard announce they belief that Maddie could be alive and call on police in Portugal to reopen the case, but it falls on deaf ears amid 'a lack of new evidence'.
2013. July 4: Scotland Yard opens new investigation and claim to have identified 38 'people of interest'.
October 24: A review into the investigation is opened by Portuguese police and new lines of inquiry are discovered, forcing them to reopen the case. 2014.
January 29: British officers arrive in Portugal as a detailed investigation takes place. During the year, several locations are searched, including an area of scrubland near the resort. 2015.
October 28: British police announce that team investigating Maddie's disappearance is reduced from 29 officers to just four, as it is also revealed that the investigation has cost £10million. 2016.
April 3: Operation Grange is handed an additional £95,000 by Theresa May to keep the investigation alive for another six months. 2017.
March 11: Cash is once again pumped into keeping the investigation alive, with £85,000 granted to keep it running until September, when it is extended once again until April next year. 2018.
March 27: The Home Office reveals it has allocated further funds to Operation Grange. The new fund is believed to be as large as £150,000.
September 11: Parents fear as police hunt into daughter's disappearance could be shelved within three weeks by the new Home Secretary amid funding cuts.
September 26: Fresh hope in the search for Madeleine McCann as it emerges the Home Office is considering allocating more cash for the police to find her.