Madeleine McCann’s parents, Kate and Gerry (Picture: Christian Charisius/DPA/PA Images)

The release of a Netflix documentary has again thrown the disappearance of Madeleine McCann into the spotlight.

Her parents have chosen not to participate, saying it could hinder the police investigation into what happened to the little girl after she disappeared on holiday almost 12 years ago.

One of the episodes details 48 questions that Kate McCann was asked about her daughter, then aged three.

A full transcript has emerged of the harrowing interview by Portuguese police who asked her questions such as ‘Why did you say Madeleine had been abducted?’


The couple have been cleared of any wrongdoing and both British and Portuguese police insist they are not suspects.



The Portuguese police investigation has also been widely condemned.

Kate and Gerry McCann have been cleared of any wrongdoing (Picture: PA)

At the time officials quizzed Kate with a barrage of questions, including about her work, relationships between the children and whether she had a bad feeling before the trip.

They also demanded to know why she contacted the press to publicise the fact her daughter had gone missing.

The McCanns travelled to the Algarve in April 2007 with Madeleine, her brother Sean, sister Amelie, and a group of friends. Madeleine disappeared five days later.

The documentary looks at theories about the case, including the idea that she was snatched to order by a people-trafficking gang and smuggled to another country.

Netflix claims the show included ‘never-before-heard testimonies from those at the heart of the story.’

48 questions that Kate McCann didn't answer about the disappearance of her daughter Madeleine McCann On May 3, 2007, around 22:00, when you entered the apartment, what did you see? What did you do? Where did you look? What did you touch? Did you search inside the master bedroom wardrobe? – what were your exact words? (Shown two photographs of her bedroom wardrobe) Can you describe its contents? Why was the curtain by the sofa near the side window tampered with? Did someone go behind the sofa? How long did your search of the apartment take after you detected Madeleine’s disappearance? Why did you say Madeleine had been abducted? Assuming Madeleine was abducted, why did you leave the twins to go to the ‘Tapas’ and raise the alarm? The supposed abductor could still be in the apartment. Why didn’t you ask the twins then what happened to their sister or why didn’t you ask them later on? When you raised the alarm at the ‘Tapas’ what exactly did you say – what were your exact words? What happened after you raised the alarm there? (Picture: Family Handout/PA Wire) Why did you go and warn your friends instead of shouting from the verandah? Who contacted the authorities? Who took place in the searches? Did anyone outside the group learn of her disappearance in those following minutes? Did any neighbour offer you help? What does ‘we let her down’ mean? Did Jane Tanner tell you that night she’d seen a man with a child? How were the authorities contacted and which police force was alerted? During the searches, with the police there, where did you search for Maddie, how and in what way? Why did the twins not wake up during that search or when they were taken upstairs? Who did you phone after the occurrence? Did you call Sky News? Did you know the danger of calling the media, because it could influence the abductor? Did you ask for a priest? By what means did you divulge Madeleine’s features, by photographs or by any other means? The McCanns have been the subject of scrutiny over the disappearance of their daughter (Picture:Christian Charisius/DPA/PA Images) Is it true that during the searches you remained seated on Maddie’s bed without moving? What was your behaviour that night? Did you manage to sleep? Before travelling to Portugal, did you make any comment about a foreboding or a bad feeling? What was Madeleine’s behaviour like? Did Maddie suffer from any illness or take any medication? What was Madeleine’s relationship like with her brother and sister? What was Madeleine’s relationship like with her brother and sister, friends and school mates? As for your professional life, in how many and which hospitals have you worked? What is your medical speciality? Have you ever done shift work in any emergency services or other services? Did you work every day? At a certain point you stopped working. Why? Are the twins difficult to get to sleep? Are they restless and does that cause you uneasiness? Is it true sometimes you despaired at your children’s behaviour and it left you feeling very uneasy? Is it true that in England you even considered handing over Madeleine’s custody to a relative? In England, did you medicate your children? What type of medication? In the case files, you were shown canine forensic testing films. After watching them, did you say you couldn’t explain any more than you already had? When the sniffer dog also marked human blood behind the sofa, did you say you couldn’t explain any more than you already had? When the sniffer dog marked the scent of corpse coming from the vehicle you hired a month after the disappearance, did you say you couldn’t explain any more than you already had? When human blood was marked in the boot of the vehicle, did you say you couldn’t explain any more than you already had? When confronted with the results of Maddie’s DNA, carried out in a British lab, collected from behind the sofa and the boot of the vehicle, did you say you couldn’t explain any more than you already had? Did you have any responsibility or intervention in your daughter’s disappearance?

The McCann family have endured years of speculation since Madeleine’s disappearance.

They said they were approached by Netflix but decided not to take part because ‘we did not see – and still do not see – how this programme will help the search for Madeleine and, particularly given there is an active police investigation, it could potentially hinder it.’

Scotland Yard’s £11.75million investigation, Operation Grange, was launched after the Portuguese inquiry ended.

Last year it was given £150,000 to allow it to continue until the end of this month.

Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for the McCann family, told ITV’s This Morning that the McCanns still believe Madeleine is alive – and there is ‘no evidence’ that she has come to any physical harm.

He said: ‘I’ve always said this could end with one phone call, and that is still very much the case.’

You can watch The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann on Netflix now.

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