London 21 February 2022 - Channel 5 has announced today the commissioning of a ground-breaking new documentary, 'Inside the Coroners', providing exclusive access to the Coroner, his officers, and the autopsies performed during an investigation into a cause of death. 

Working with the Royal Hospital Preston, Lancashire Constabulary and Lancashire County Council, Inside the Coroners is a hard-hitting factual documentary series produced by Candour Productions.  The three-part (3 x 60) series sees the detective story from a whole new angle as it’s the Coroner and his officers’ job to work out what has happened following the discovery of a body.  The 360-degree series will track the body from the moment it is found or brought into the mortuary to the inquest months later.  

Each self-contained episode looks at a number of different stories and the families at the centre of them. They thoughtfully tell the story of the Coroner and his officers, who are specially trained to work with relatives. These stories are full of investigation and intrigue as each episode follows the same Coroner, officers, and precinct, as they work to understand what is the cause of death.  

Channel 5 Commissioning Editor Daniel Pearl says: “Channel 5 is Award-winning for operating in a space that others may shy away from, and it is important to us to look at tough subjects in a sensitive and engaging manner. Inside the Coroners does just that, and we couldn’t think of a better partner than Candour Productions for this breakthrough documentary series. The team at Candour specialise in content that makes a difference, and we think that our Channel 5 audiences will find Inside the Coroners truly fascinating.”   

Anna Hall Executive Producer at Candour says: “We are so excited to be working on this truly ground-breaking series. Packed full of drama and unfolding intrigue, these stories give an insight into a world rarely seen on television – the mortuary and the decisions taken in real time by each of the highly skilled professionals working on the ground. This is a new way of telling a detective story with a whole new cast of professionals – from the pathologist to the detectives to the mortuary staff to the doctors at the hospital piecing together what has happened – and of course the Coroner himself.”   

 Inside the Coroners is commissioned by Daniel Pearl and executive produced by Anne Hall at Candour Productions.    

ENDS 

 For more information please contact: Jamila Atta – jamila.atta@vimn.com    

 About Channel 5 

Channel 5 is a public service broadcaster and the UK’s third largest commercial TV station. Launched in March 1997, Channel 5 has been part of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS) since its acquisition in September 2014. Channel 5 and its digital brands – 5STAR, 5USA, 5Select, 5Action and the on-demand service My5 – offer a diverse range of issue-led documentaries & popular factual, accessible history, stunning natural history, premium drama and critically-acclaimed children’s, news and current affairs programming. Through its agenda-driving commissions, Channel 5 leads on societal issues from inequality to inner city gang life, homelessness to mental health, aiming to tell the story of modern Britain by reflecting the lives of people across the nation.  In 2018, Channel 5 won its first BAFTA for Cruising with Jane McDonald and was named ‘Channel of the Year’ at the Edinburgh TV Festival. The following year it won best documentary prizes for The Abused at the RTS Awards, Edinburgh TV Awards and the Association of International Broadcasters Awards. In 2020, Channel 5 was crowned Channel of the Year at the Broadcast Digital Awards and by the RTS.   

About Candour Productions 

Candour is a multi award winning female-led production company based in Leeds. We specialise in telling hard hitting stories with compassion and sensitivity. Our founder and Creative Director Anna Hall has been nominated for 6 BAFTAs and has twice won the hugely prestigious WFTV Award – once for Best Factual and once for Best Producer. She is also the only woman ever to have been nominated in two consecutive years at the BAFTA Craft Awards for Best Factual Director. In the last year Candour was nominated for a Grierson, a BAFTA and a RTS Doc for our C4 film The Family Secret and we have won Best Indie at the RTS Yorkshire Awards two years running.