Who is Jill Dando and what happened to her? Details explored ahead of Netflix's true crime documentary

Who Killed Jill Dando is an upcoming docuseries from Netflix that explores the mysterious murder of famous British broadcaster Jill Dando. The series will examine one of Britain's most well-known murder investigations through interviews with members of Dando's family, reporters, and investigators.

The official synopsis of the upcoming true-crime docuseries, as per Netflix, reads:

"British broadcasting legend Jill Dando was killed by a single bullet on her doorstep in 1999 in broad daylight. Despite one of the biggest homicide investigations in British history, the murder remains unsolved."

It further reads:

"This three-part series takes viewers through the twists and the turns of a true crime mystery as her family, friends, journalists, investigators, and lawyers wrestle with the question: Who Killed Jill Dando?"

Who Killed Jill Dando, which was announced in January of this year, will start streaming on Tuesday, September 26, 2023, only on Netflix. Marcus Plowright, who previously worked on Fred and Rose West: Reopened, serves as the film's director.

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Netflix's new docuseries, Who Killed Jill Dando, will examine the murder case investigations through various interviews

A still of Jill Dando (Image via The Mirror)

A journalist, newsreader, and television host, Jill Dando was born in England. She worked for the BBC for the majority of her career. At the time of her passing, she was also contributing to the BBC One show Crimewatch.

Jill began a career in radio and media after completing her studies in journalism at Cardiff Metropolitan University. She began as a trainee reporter for the Weston Mercury, a small weekly newspaper where her father and brother, who was also a journalist, were employed.

After working as a print journalist for five years, Jill joined the BBC in 1985 as a newsreader for BBC Radio Devon. The late broadcaster began appearing regularly on BBC News in 1988 after making the transition from regional to national television, which she did so until the mid-1990s.

At the time of her passing, Jill was 37 years old and was dating gynecologist Alan Farthing, who would eventually serve as Queen Elizabeth II's personal doctor. The two were paired up together on a blind date. In January 1999, the couple made their engagement public, with the wedding scheduled for later that year.

On the morning of her passing in April 1999, BBC presenter Jill left Alan's residence in Chiswick and drove by herself back to the property she owned in Fulham. When the Crimewatch host, who had been attempting to sell the house, arrived at her front door at 11:32 am BST, she was tragically shot in the head.

After Helen Doble, a neighbor, found the body of the deceased TV personality a little over 14 minutes later, police were summoned at 11:47 am BST. Jill was subsequently taken by ambulance to the adjacent Charing Cross Hospital at around 13:03 pm, where she was pronounced dead. However, 24 years since her murder, Dando's killer is yet to be identified.

Since the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper, the Metropolitan Police has launched the greatest murder investigation and criminal probe in the UK in response to her death. Barry George, a local resident, was jailed at the time after being found guilty of the murder.

However, after eight years in jail, George was exonerated after an appeal and a new trial. Since then, no other suspects have been named in connection with Dando's murder, and the case is still open.

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To this day, nobody knows for sure who really killed Jill Dando. The murder of the Crimewatch host, who has family in Portishead, and the investigation that followed will be covered in the upcoming documentary directed by Marcus Plowright. The three-part docuseries will premiere on Netflix on September 26, 2023.