Dan Walker: TV can be a force for good

Dan Walker has said he believes television should make “a positive difference” and be a “force for good” at a time when there are “bad headlines” about the industry.

The broadcaster, who presents the Channel 5 show Vanished: The Hunt For Britain’s Missing People, said he hopes to provide help and comfort to the families of the missing.

He told the PA news agency: “I fundamentally believe that this is the sort of thing that you should do on television.

“TV is great, and it’s great for entertainment and programmes like Strictly and Match Of The Day and all that stuff, and they are great and they are forces for good, but there’s also an opportunity in TV to genuinely make a difference to people’s lives.

“I think Vanished is one of those programmes that does that. Two of the people that we featured last year, we had letters and emails from the families of those people to say thank you for helping us to locate that person.”

Walker said he feels it is particularly important to shine the spotlight on cases of missing people that have not previously received a lot of attention and publicity.

He added: “Everyone who works at it feels a responsibility to cover those stories. And the thing that I always find encouraging is that one piece of evidence can change everything.

“All police officers that we work with, and all the experts we work with, say ‘We worked on cases for years, and then, all of a sudden, somebody’s memory will be jogged, or somebody gets a pang of conscience, whatever it might be.’

“And they say ‘Actually, I saw that girl or that guy, at this time, get into this car, or they actually went to this pub at this time’, or whatever it might be. And that single piece of new evidence can transform the case. So that’s why it’s important to talk about them.”

One of the cases that features in the new series is that of Katrice Lee, a toddler who has been missing since November 28 1981.

Walker said: “It is literally a mother’s worst scenario. She’s in the supermarket. she goes off to buy something for a birthday party, she comes back and her daughter’s gone and she’s never been seen since.

“I struggle to think how a parent deals with that. And I think just being there to listen to their story, to let them tell you about their loved one, to tell you what they’re going through, and then to appeal to your audience to say ‘Is there anything you know that you can do to help them?’…

“I think that’s important to me. I think it’s right there is space for that in the schedule.”

Walker said he hopes the second series of the show, which is broadcast live, will see the same amount of interaction with the phone lines, as people call in with information.

He added: “We’re trying not to be sensationalist about it. Yes, some of it is true crime and I know people are interested in that, but it’s not like ‘Oh, look at this. What happened?’

“It’s more a case of ‘This person is missing. Can you help?’

“And I think the point we’re always trying to drill home is one call, maybe your call, can make a difference.

“One piece of information can change this family forever and let them know what’s happened to their loved one.

“We are trying to make a positive difference in a time when TV is getting bad headlines for the sort of stuff that people assume TV is all about.

“And I think it’s important to remember that TV is actually filled with decent people who try and make good programmes and, hopefully that’s what this is.”

– Vanished: The Hunt For Britain’s Missing People returns to Channel 5 at 8pm on November 1.