Behind the scenes on Scotland's top true crime show

The Herald Scotland

2 days ago

Suddenly, as if a switch had been flicked, the fog lifted to reveal a herd of red deer standing close by, watching what the strangers were doing.
'It was quite a moment,' the officer tells Murder Case: The Vanishing Cyclist, a documentary about the disappearance of Tony Parsons, a 63-year-old grandfather from Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire.
Grandfather Tony Parsons was on his way home from a charity bike ride (Image: Firecrest Films/BBC Scotland)
It is no ordinary reminiscence, but then Murder Case and its sister series Murder Trial don't do ordinary. Made by Firecrest Films for BBC Scotland, the award-winning true crime documentaries attract big audiences in Scotland and across the UK, with three million streaming requests on iPlayer alone. It's a television success story, and a Clyde-built one at that.
Firecrest is based in the Fairfield building in Govan, once home to a mighty shipbuilding operation, now a museum and offices. True crime documentaries are just one part of their output. The rest ranges from Michael Palin's Himalaya to Denise Van Outen's latest supermarket sweep.
Kirsty MacFarlane is series producer of The Vanishing Cyclist and Murder Case: Who Killed Keisha, which deals with the 2023 death of Kiesha Donaghy, a mother-of-two from Elgin.
MacFarlane is the main contact with Police Scotland's Major Investigations Teams (MIT), who deal with the cases covered. Firecrest makes much of this access, variously described as exceptional, unprecedented and unparalleled. Similar arrangements exist however, notably between The Garden, makers of 24 Hours in Police Custody, and Bedfordshire Police.
24 Hours in Police Custody is often compared to Murder Case, but there are differences. The Channel 4 series focuses more on the nuts and bolts of an investigation in the critical early period, while Murder Case takes the longer view, as in the Tony Parsons case.
In September 2017, the former Navy officer was on a charity bike ride from Fort William to Tillicoultry when he disappeared. His wife Margaret, son Mike and daughter Vicky were left in agony, not knowing what had happened.
Three years later, police received a call from a woman saying a drunk driver had hit Mr Parsons. Not only did the caller name the driver and his twin brother as Alexander and Robert McKellar, she knew where the body was buried on the vast Auch Estate. With her help - she had marked the location with a drinks can stamped into the ground - police and forensics teams, watched by those inquisitive deer, finally found Mr Parsons.
The Auch Estate where the body was found (Image: Firecrest Films/BBC Scotland)
As well as liaising with police, MacFarlane is the main point of contact for families. While every case is different, the initial approach is made by letter, passed on by the police. Should the family say yes to taking part, further meetings follow.
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MacFarlane met the Parsons two and a half years ago, but it was only six months ago that Margaret and Vicky felt ready to speak on camera. The interviews with family and police officers are always moving and often astonishing.
Mrs Parsons says of the two men jailed for the crime: 'When they get out of jail they are going to go back to life as if nothing's happened. I can't do that because Tony is not here. They are not the ones that are left with a life sentence, I am.'
A can stamped into the ground marked the grave's location (Image: Firecrest Films/BBC Scotland)
Contact with the families continues after a programme airs. The other week someone sent MacFarlane photos from a family wedding. Such close ties are understandable with families, but I wonder about the relationship with police. Isn't there a risk in it becoming too close? The police have ultimate control over access. The films, moreover, show officers officers in an unfailingly flattering light. It's great PR for the MIT.
MacFarlane is having none of that. 'Our job is not to be inside the police as part of their organisation. We have editorial control of the programme and are not guided by them in any way. I personally haven't felt like we've been pushed away from cases to protect their reputation.'
As a production company operating in Scotland, Firecrest has one major advantage over its rivals elsewhere in the UK - access to trials.
Executive producer Vari Innes explains how it works. There are eight cameras in court, none of which should be noticeable. 'They basically just look like a lightstand or a bit of equipment in the corner.' The golden rule is that filming should have no impact on proceedings.
The cameras are controlled by a director and a camera operator, working in a separate room.
Putting the images together can yield dramatic results. In The Vanishing Cyclist, we see Mike Parson's reaction in real time as the court hears in detail about the place where his father's body was found.
Sometimes, says Innes, it is just as important to look away, as the camera does with Mrs Parsons.
'We've chosen not to show her genuine reaction to it because it felt too much. It was inappropriate to show how upset she was.'
This victim-centred approach is a world apart from the sensationalist way crime used to be covered. Some fear the ever-growing demand for stories will mean a return to the bad old days. Not at Firecrest, though. The only change at their end is a move into podcasts with Inside Murder Trial (BBC Sounds).
MacFarlane says: 'I don't love the word victim, but we certainly put the person who has died at the centre of every programme we make, and their family. It's an absolute privilege that they allow us to tell their story.'
Murder Case: The Vanishing Cyclist, BBC Scotland, 9pm, August 12. Both episodes, plus Who Killed Kiesha, on BBC iPlayer the same day.