The murder of Melanie Hall: what happened, how to watch new Channel 5 documentary, when is it on TV

A new Channel 5 true crime documentary follows the shocking unsolved disappearance and murder of Melanie Hall, whose remains were found in a plastic bin bag on a motorway slip road near Bristol.

Her death was one of Britain’s most high-profile unsolved mysteries and it shocked people in Bristol and Bath, where Melanie came from.

On the night of June 8, 1996, 25-year-old Melanie was enjoying an evening out with her friends in Cadillacs nightclub in Bath.

But their night of harmless fun quickly turned into tragedy. Melanie was last seen sitting on a bar stool at the edge of the dance floor at 1.10am - she was never heard from nor seen again.

It would be another 13 years before her remains were discovered, in the most unlikely of places. Her body was found on the slip road of the busy motorway at Junction 14 of the M5 near Thornbury.

On October 5, 2009, her remains were discovered in a bag and included a skull, pelvis and thigh bone. Further remains were found buried and spread around the field by the side of the motorway.

Police confirmed that the remains were human, and they showed a piece of jewellery found at the site to Melanie’s parents, who confirmed that it had belonged to their daughter.

The remains were formally identified through dental records. Melanie had suffered a severe blunt trauma to her head resulting in a fractured skull, cheekbone and jaw.

Melanie was declared legally dead in 2004 but in 2019, police revealed they had new evidence when they obtained a partial DNA profile from the blue rope wrapped around the bag containing her remains.

By October 2019, 11 arrests had been made during the police investigation but no one has ever been charged and her killer still remains at large.

The new documentary The Body in the Bag: The Murder of Melanie Hall features interviews with her family and the police leading the investigation.

Using archive footage and reconstruction, the documentary will re-examine the case and explore the various theories surrounding her death.

If you have any information regarding the murder of Melanie Hall, please call 101 and ask for Avon and Somerset Police and say you have information relating to Operation Denmark.

Who was Melanie Hall?

Born in Bath, Melanie Hall was described by her parents, Pat and Stephen, as a “young, vibrant daughter”. She had graduated from the University of Bath in 1995, just a year before her disappearance. She obtained a degree in nursing and then worked as a clerical officer at Bath’s Royal United Hospital.

When is The Body in the Bag: The Murder of Melanie Hall on TV?

The Body in the Bag: The Murder of Melanie Hall, airs on Thursday September 28 at 9pm on Channel 5. It runs for 90 minutes.