Family Forensics UK (partially found episodes of LivingTV reality show; 2005-2006)

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Family Forensics UK advertised in a LivingTV promotion.

Status: Aired Episodes - Partially Found
Unaired Episodes - Lost

Family Forensics UK was a LivingTV reality show. Produced by Twofour and presented by Jayne Middlemiss, it was an adaptation of a namesake A&E programme. It involved a forensic team conducting a deep examination of a home to uncover shocking and oftentimes dark secrets of the family that lived there. The show was originally scheduled to air in November 2005. However, it was abruptly cancelled after a single episode when it was revealed that private investigator Michael Brown had recently been convicted of child sexual offences. A revived programme was later aired throughout April and May of 2006.

Background

In August 2005, it was announced that LivingTV had acquired the British television rights for Family Forensics. The concept had originally aired on A&E in July 2005 and was set to be televised overseas by Living under the title of Family Forensics US.[1] Created by Glenn Marrichi,[2] the A&E show had already garnered some notoriety for its controversial discoveries concerning some profiled families, including signs of an abusive marriage.[3] Family Forensics UK became part of Living's autumn schedule alongside Jade's Salon.[4]

Living commissioned Twofour to produce six one-hour episodes.[5] A month following Living's announcement, it was reported that Jayne Middlemiss would become Family Forensics UK's main presenter.[4] Middlemiss had enjoyed a long television presenting career, hosting such programmes as The O-Zone and Robot Wars.[6][7] Yet, her recent victory on Celebrity Love Island further enhanced her image, contributing towards her being hired to host Orange Playlist and Family Forensics UK.[8] She would be joined by a trio of forensics investigators, including relationship expert Christine Webber, who also became the show's executive producer;[9][1] Michael Brown, a private investigator;[10][11][12][13] and a forensic profiler.[14][5] The programme was directed by Sue McGregor.[15]

Premise

Each episode featured the forensic team being granted access by a family member into their home. They and their unsuspecting family went on a weekend trip, enabling the team to conduct a 48-hour investigation as if the house were a crime scene.[16][14][10] Nothing within the house - including clothes, computers, records and even rubbish - was off-limits to the investigation.[14][4] Using their know-how, the forensic profiler, private investigator and relationship expert pieced together a biography of each family member, which includes the shocking and the taboo.[16][14][15][5] For instance, one episode saw a mother invite the team over. However, the investigators discovered that she had been displaying explicit images of herself online to pursue a lesbian encounter. Additionally, it is revealed her best friend's husband is her eldest son's biological father.[17] Another infamous episode revealed a teenage girl was engaging in late online conversations with a 56-year-old man.[16][17] Once the family returned, Middlemiss and Webber presented them with their findings.[14] Some episodes uncomfortably attempted to confront teenagers about their sexual activities.[18][16] The confrontations aimed to provide resolutions for otherwise shaken families.[16][14]

The show's pull-no-punches approach garnered controversy, something that Living capitalised upon during its advertisements.[19] The Daily Mail described the programme as "shockingly intrusive", while The Sunday Times claimed it would provide "some of the most mortifying scenes in TV history".[15] Some sources, like Matt Warden of The Telegraph, Flow Journal's Yvonne Tasker and Digital Spy Forums discourse, pondered why any family would want to put themselves through this unpleasant ordeal, especially as it would be televised to a national audience.[20][16][17]

Cancellation and Revival

The show debuted on LivingTV at 10 pm on 16th November 2005.[21][20] It reportedly focused on the Crowther family and their teenage son's "little secret".[20] But after this episode was broadcast, the programme was abruptly axed.[10][11][12][13] It had nothing to do with the show's content, but instead the revelations concerning one of its presenters. 51-year-old Michael Brown worked as a private investigator in Poole, Dorset before moving to Romford, Essex.[22][23] Unbeknownst to Twofour,[10][12] Brown had a dark past. In November 1989, Brown was sentenced to a year in prison for sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl.[22][23] At some point, he was also convicted for the illegal possession of a knuckle duster.[23] Despite his criminal history, Brown appeared on Family Forensics UK because he did not disclose his convictions to Twofour.[10][11][12]

Worse still, Brown was in the middle of a criminal trial during filming. On 4th August 2005, Brown was arrested in Poole after a mother discovered overt signs that he was indecently exposing himself in front of her two young daughters. The abuse allegedly occurred between January and July of 2005, which resulted in Brown being charged with six counts of child sexual offences.[23][22] Brown pleaded guilty on 17th October;[10] however, Living and Twofour were not aware of this until after the debut episode's broadcast. Upon learning of their private investigator's conviction, Living apologised for airing the programme and announced no other episodes would be televised. Additionally, they assured that Brown had no contact with any families involved in filming.[10][11][12] Brown was sentenced to at least two years in prison, was given a sex offender prevention order and was mandated to register as a sex offender.[22][23] Living also considered taking legal action against Brown for violating the terms of his contract, which consequently meant the remaining episodes were now unairable.[24]

Despite the Brown controversy, Living retained faith in the show's potential. A revived series began airing on 17th April 2006.[25][17] Based on an article by the Berwick Advertiser, it appeared John Moses replaced Brown as the private investigator. Moses was a former police officer, whose company Longmere Consultants was selected to provide forensics services including retrieving deleted emails and text messages. During an interview with the Berwick Advertiser, Moses felt the show "worked really well" though he did find the consequences of taboo discoveries difficult.[14] A Twofour synopsis indicated another six episodes were produced,[5] which were televised from April to May 2006.[17]

Availability

In total, twelve episodes were produced for Family Forensics UK.[5][1][17] Following the news of Brown's conviction, Living (nowadays known as Sky Witness[26]) announced that the remaining five episodes would be removed from planned circulation out of respect to his victims.[10][11][12] Consequently, the episodes will never be publicly released. The sole broadcast featuring Brown has not yet resurfaced, nor have any full episodes of the revival. A commercial for the second series was uploaded to YouTube by King Of The 00s on 16th April 2024, which currently remains the only publicly available media from either show.[19]

Gallery

Videos

Commercial for the revived version of Family Forensics UK.

External Links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Archived C21 Media reporting on Living beginning production on Family Forensics UK. Retrieved 25th Oct '24
  2. ↑ Archived Screen Magazine noting Glenn Marrichi created the Family Forensics concept for A&E. Retrieved 25th Oct '24
  3. ↑ 12th February 2006 issue of Sunday World (Dublin) listing a Living broadcast of Family Forensics US, which featured evidence of an abusive marriage (found on The British Newspaper Archive, p.g. 149). Retrieved 25th Oct '24
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Guardian reporting on Middlemiss presenting Family Forensics UK, as part of Living's autumn schedule. Retrieved 25th Oct '24
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Archived Twofour providing a summary of Family Forensics UK. Retrieved 25th Oct '24
  6. ↑ Archived Sunday Sun summarising Middlemiss' career up to September 2002. Retrieved 25th Oct '24
  7. ↑ Fighting Robots Association reporting on Middlemiss becoming the Robot Wars pit reporter for the Seventh Wars and noting her previous television credits. Retrieved 25th Oct '24
  8. ↑ The Daily Mirror noting Middlemiss' Celebrity Love Island victory gave her further presenting roles including Family Forensics UK. Retrieved 25th Oct '24
  9. ↑ Archived First Artist Management profile on Webber. Retrieved 25th Oct '24
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 BBC News reporting on the scrapping of Family Forensics UK following the news of Brown's conviction for child sexual offences. Retrieved 25th Oct '24
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Digital Spy reporting on the show's scrapping following the Brown revelations. Retrieved 25th Oct '24
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 Daily Mail reporting on the show being scrapped after a single episode because of Brown's conviction. Retrieved 25th Oct '24
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 23rd November 2005 issue of The Birmingham Post reporting on the cancellation of Family Forensics UK following Brown's conviction (found on The Free Library). Retrieved 25th Oct '24
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 Archived Berwick Advertiser which discussed Moses' role on Family Forensics UK. Retrieved 25th Oct '24
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Archived Sue McGregor which credited McGregor for directing the show. Retrieved 25th Oct '24
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 Flow Journal examining both versions of Family Forensics including some of its most notable moments. Retrieved 25th Oct '24
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 Digital Spy Forums discussing the revived version of the show, including shocking revelations surrounding a mother's double life. Retrieved 25th Oct '24
  18. ↑ Digital Spy Forums discussing Family Forensics UK and its uncomfortable habit of presenting findings surrounding teenagers and what they got up to. Retrieved 25th Oct '24
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Trailer for the revived Family Forensics UK. Retrieved 25th Oct '24
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 The Telegraph previewing the original version of Family Forensics UK. Retrieved 25th Oct '24
  21. ↑ 16th November 2005 issue of Irish Independent listing the sole televised episode of the original Family Forensics UK (found on The British Newspaper Archive, p.g. 24). Retrieved 25th Oct '24
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 BBC News reporting on Brown being sentenced to at least two years in prison for sexual offences. Retrieved 25th Oct '24
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 Dorset Echo reporting on Brown's sentencing and how he was caught. Retrieved 25th Oct '24
  24. ↑ Campaign reporting on Living considering legal action against Brown for violating his contract by not disclosing his convictions. Retrieved 25th Oct '24
  25. ↑ 16th April 2006 issue of Sunday World (Dublin) listing the upcoming 17th April 2006 broadcast of the revived Family Forensics UK (found on The British Newspaper Archive, p.g. 121). Retrieved 25th Oct '24
  26. ↑ Broadband TV News reporting on Sky Living being rebranded to Sky Witness. Retrieved 25th Oct '24
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