A documentary has begun airing on Channel 4 showing how Machynlleth coped with tragedy as it documents the abduction of April Jones in 2012.

‘The Disappearance of April Jones’, a three-part documentary series was broadcast on Channel 4, with each episode airing over three consecutive nights from December 12 to December 14.

Chronicling and examining the abduction of five-year-old April, the documentary spans from her disappearance on October 1, 2021, the massive police search that followed and the conviction of her murderer Mark Bridger, to the lasting impact the tragedy has left on the town more than a decade later.

Writing for national newspaper The Metro, series producer Natalie Maynes spoke about the importance of capturing the community in documenting the horrific crime.

She said: “The risk with making true crime documentaries is that, while they offer viewers the potential to become arm chair sleuths solving a macabre puzzle, there is no doubt they also have the potential to be exploitative and voyeuristic.

MORE NEWS:

“So, before we began, we had to make sure it was a project that would be approved of by April’s family.

“As well as the impact on the family, we were really interested in how this crime had affected the community at large

“To get local people on board the only real option was to go and live in Machynlleth to build everyone’s trust and try to understand the impact of an unspeakable crime had rippled out to effect everyone.

“As well as wanting to tell this story more thoroughly than it has ever been told before, we were determined that our series would set out to reclaim Machynlleth as the utterly beautiful oasis it was known as before April’s murder.

“The phrase ‘triumph over adversity’ is so oft used it has become a cliché – but April’s family and the people of Machynlleth are living, breathing proof that resilience can help the human spirit repair and renew.”

Reviews and reactions to the series have noted its strong sense of place, such as a review by The Telegraph’s Anita Singh who described it as “hard to watch but impossible to look away” and called it “a respectful addition to the true crime genre”.

All three episodes of ‘The Disappearance of April Jones’ are available on 4OD.