The Girl Who Caught a Killer: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

The Girl Who Caught a Killer follows Rachael Watts, now 42, as she tells her extraordinary story – how, as a seven-year-old girl, she was kidnapped by a stranger, strangled, and left for dead.  

Four years earlier, the "Babes in the Wood" murders of schoolgirls Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway had shocked the nation. Despite the evidence, the killer Russell Bishop walked free – free to proclaim his innocence and, sickeningly, lead a hunt for the "real" killer. Rachael not only survived the appalling attack on her, but she was able to pick out her attacker from a police lineup. Bishop was found guilty of her attempted murder, and Rachael's identity remained a secret.  

Now, in this new two-part documentary series, Rachael breaks her thirty-year silence to share her story for the first time on camera, revealing the long-term impact of her trauma, and her role in helping convict a murderer.  Alongside Rachael's story, family members of Nicola Fellows describe their thirty-year struggle for justice, leading to a sensational re-trial. 

Featuring the personal accounts of family, witnesses, police detectives, and with previously unreleased police footage and photos, the series gives unparallelled insight into one of the most notorious crimes in British history, how a second crime exposed the real killer, and how the testimony of one little girl finally caught a killer.

Series details

• Title: The Girl Who Caught a Killer
• Format: Documentary
• Language: English
• Premiere date: 2025-05-25
• Status in TVmaze: Running
• Web channel listed by TVmaze: Now
• TVMaze ID: 83579

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2025-05-25; final listed air date 2025-05-25; episode order: 2.

Source and licence

Adapted from The Girl Who Caught a Killer on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.