Five-Year-Old Star Cast as Madeleine McCann

At just five-years-old, child actress Ruby Ranson looks set for stardom after landing a role in one of TV's biggest dramas. 

On Wednesday night, viewers tuned into 's controversial drama, Under Suspicion: Kate McCann, which dramatises the case of Britain's most famous missing person, .

The 90-minute programme was drawn directly from official statements and recorded testimony, and followed detectives interrogating Kate over 11 hours which saw her and husband Gerry declared 'arguidos', or suspects. 

Taking on the role of Madeleinewas none other than Ruby, who landed her first modelling job at just six weeks old for Shein and has also worked for Primark, Mothercare, , Next,  and JoJo Maman Bébé.

Speaking to Daily Mail, Ruby's mother Gemma shared that it's no surprise that Ruby has been tipped to go onto bigger projects, saying: 'She's always had that star quality and been a performer.

'She's definitely outgoing. She's not shy. She can go into a room with pretty much anyone and start talking! It's a nice quality.' 

While Ruby - who was four when she filmed the part - is too young to understand the concept of the McCanns' story, Gemma revealed she has taped her scenes to show her. 

'A lot of the time the kids do self-tapes and a lot of work, but they don't get to see the finished product,' Gemma explained. 'So she's going to watch it and she can understand a bit more.'

Under Suspicion: Kate McCann, marks Ruby's first big film role, with the youngster loving her time on set. 

Gemma was also full of praise for Laura Bayston who plays Kate, saying: 'She was so good, she was really friendly and you could see her really getting into character.

'And the company itself just made sure that Ruby stuck to her filming times and that she didn't go over, that she got her breaks when she was meant to. They treated her really well.'  

Actress Laura previously discussed her experience on set, saying the hardest scene to film was police offering her a deal if she admitted to killing Madeleine, describing it as 'truly horrific and an absolute punch in the guts'.

She added that she had two children who were a similar age at the time of the British girl's disappearance in Portugal 19 years ago, which left her 'terrified'.

Laura - who bears a remarkable likeness to Kate McCann- has previously had small parts in and Slow Horses, but this role is the biggest of her career so far.

Asked about the hardest scene to film emotionally, she said: 'It was all emotional, but when Kate is presented with her offer by the police, which is to admit guilt…

'That was truly horrific and an absolute punch in the guts to film. It was hard to rein in the emotions for that one - a mix of utter despair to white rage and back again.'

Madeleine vanished in May 2007 while on holiday with her parents at Praia da Luz in the Algarve after they left the then three-year-old and her younger twin siblings asleep in their apartment while they went out to dinner with friends.

During questioning in September 2007, detectives made both parents suspects in amid a theory they had staged an abduction and concealed Madeleine's body.

As baseless public speculation grew that the parents were involved, Kate was offered a deal to admit covering up the murder in exchange for a shorter sentence.

Their 'arguidos' status was eventually lifted and the Portuguese investigation was shelved in 2008, but the couple remained under suspicion in the country for years.

Some 15 years later, Portuguese police travelled from Lisbon to London in 2023 to apologise to the McCanns for how they investigated the case and treated the family.

They admitted the initial probe was not handled properly, insufficient importance was given at the time to missing children and officers did not properly appreciate the McCanns' position as foreigners in an environment they did not understand.

Under Suspicion: Kate McCann, also stars James Robinson as Gerry McCann, who is joined in the cast by Joana Borja, Hugo Nicolau, Miguel Freire and Carlos Agualusa.

This drama begins three months into the search to find Madeleine, when Portuguese police had no substantial leads, no real evidence and no arrests made.

They then summoned Kate for a meeting which took an accusatory tone from the start as she was told that 'we don't believe you'.

The script is drawn directly from official statements and recorded testimony, and sees Kate told she will be named a formal suspect. The police also say they want a confession, and without one, they may charge her with murdering her daughter.

Writer Philip Ralph explained the challenge of writing dialogue drawn from real interrogation material, given the officers who interrogated Mrs McCann did not audio record their interviews.

He explained: 'Instead one of their team took detailed notes in Portuguese which were then translated into English for Kate McCann to sign off once the interview was complete.

'So the biggest challenge was crafting dialogue that accurately represented the Portuguese police's questions and direction of enquiry whilst also ensuring that Kate's answers were accurate to the record and the facts of the case.

'And then, once that work was done the dialogue had to be accurately translated back into Portuguese for the actors playing the officers. It was a complex, painstaking process.'

The prime suspect in the case is Christian Brueckner, who was freed from jail in September last year after serving a seven-year prison sentence for the rape of an elderly woman at her home in Praia da Luz in 2005.

Brueckner has never been charged over Madeleine's disappearance, but remains the prime suspect in both the German and British investigations into what happened to her. 

He has always refused to speak to the Metropolitan Police after UK investigators sent an international letter asking to speak to him on his release.

In letters sent to the Daily Mail, Brueckner always denied any involvement in the disappearance, insisting he was being made a scapegoat by German authorities.

Under Suspicion: Kate McCann is available to watch on My5