The Moorside: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Following the disappearance of nine year-old Shannon Matthews from The Moorside Estate in Dewsbury, the police and community mount a frantic search. Despite their efforts, no trace of her can be found and within a few hours the police investigation takes on the scale of a murder enquiry.

Emotional public appeals for information from her mother Karen Matthews amount to nothing, and the community, led by Julie Bushby, stand by her and make extraordinary efforts of their own to find Shannon.

Despite the support, doubts are beginning to creep in for some regarding Karen's behaviour. Friend and neighbour Natalie struggles with her conscience as she becomes convinced that Karen knows more than she is revealing.

Just as all hope is close to fading, Shannon is found alive. The wild celebrations of Julie and the community are rapidly cut short when they learn that Shannon was being held by a man known to Karen.

Series details

• Title: The Moorside
• Format: Scripted
• Language: English
• Genres: Drama, Crime
• Premiere date: 2017-02-07
• Final broadcast date listed: 2017-02-14
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: BBC One
• Network country: United Kingdom
• Typical episode runtime: 60 minutes
• TVmaze community rating: 7.5/10
• TVMaze ID: 11857
• IMDb ID: tt5327216
• TVDB ID: 323310

Cast and credited roles

• Sheridan Smith — Julie Bushby
• Siân Brooke — Natalie Brown
• Siobhan Finneran — DC Christine Freeman
• Gemma Whelan — Karen Matthews
• John Dagleish — "Scouse" Pete Brown
• Dean Andrews — PC Steve 'Kinchie' Kinchin
• Steve Oram — DC Alex Grummitt

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2017-02-07; final listed air date 2017-02-14; episode order: 2.

Source and licence

Adapted from The Moorside 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.