Crimewatch Live

Overall quite a well produced and presented show. Crimewatch Live/Roadshow is the successor to Crimewatch which was cancelled in 2017 following declining viewing figures and poor production values. The final season featured Jeremy Vine hosting it from a car park of all places, before then the show had already turned into a shadow of its former self with poor presenting and frenzied reconstructions often with thumping music and manic editing.

Crimewatch live is now presented in a well handled and measured way. Rav has got rid of his cheeky chappy wisecracking persona and Michelle Ackerley always comes off as kind and compassionate. The reconstructions are much more sensitively handled again with toned down music and colour, avoiding graphic details. The show still suffers from a few issues, too much padding, meeting police dogs and trainers, inspiring female leaders, community activists and so on, the studio also looks a bit too soft and plain but overall it's probably back on it'd feet again. The show evolved out of the crimewatch roadshow which I was never a huge fan of, featuring nationwide appeals for things like having your car scratched by keys. Crimewatch Live tends to feature rather more serious unsolved cases, though it will also delve into some past cases and how they were solved. One particular robbery which turned out to be an inside job was very interesting.