Channel 4 commissions Rachel Nickell; My Mother’s Murder

9 June 2021

Channel 4 has commissioned Monumental Pictures, Angel Station & Hatchling Films to make the 1x60 min documentary Rachel Nickell:  My Mother’s Murder. This deeply personal authored film looks at the high profile murder of Rachel Nickell from her son Alex Hanscombe’s  perspective and will also reveal the impact on the adults around him.  For the first time on television Alex revisits the events around his mother’s murder, considering how this shaped the man he is today. 

Alex was just two years old when he was the sole witness to his mother’s brutal murder on Wimbledon Common.  After Rachel’s death in July 1992, press and public alike became obsessed with the ‘tragic tot’ who witnessed his mother’s murder just weeks before his third birthday.  Family, friends and professionals involved in the investigation worried about the impact it had on the young child, and many have not seen him since. 

Months after Rachel’s death, Alex and his father Andre fled the country to escape the public gaze.  Now, for the first time, they return to the UK and to Wimbledon common together.  Alex revisits this period of his life as he meets key people from the time, some of them friends of the family and relatives, others professionals involved in the case. 

Whilst revisiting incredible trauma experienced by a young boy, we get to know Alex Hanscombe the man, offering hope that a life after unimaginable loss is possible. 

Fran Baker, Exec Producer at Hatchling Films said, “This case has been a public obsession for almost 30 years but in all that time the voice of the little boy at the centre of it has been absent.  It’s a privilege to work with Alex to help him tell his story for the first time and to offer this insight into the impact of childhood trauma.”

Will Rowson, Factual commissioner at Channel 4 said, “This is Alex’s story, told from his perspective. It’s so important that he is able to own this narrative and I’m very pleased that that he has chosen to make such an important film with us”

Commissioning Editor: Will Rowson

Producer-Director:  Dan Harrison

Executive Producers:  John Yorke & Fran Baker

Production Company:  Monumental Pictures, Angel Station & Hatchling Films