A+E Networks EMEA Commissions Cops Gone Bad

ITN Productions has been commissioned to produce Cops Gone Bad for A+E Networks EMEA’s Crime+Investigation throughout Europe for 2024.

Presented by actor Will Mellor, the new seven-part series follows the success of Cops Who Kill. Cops Gone Bad presents seven new cases that will not only expose cops who have killed but also those who are fraudsters, swindlers, sexual predators and drug dealers.

Mellor is joined by retired Detective Chief Inspector Howard Groves, forensic psychologist Serena Simmons and former Detective Chief Superintendent Sue Hill to delve behind the headlines and explore what made those in a position of trust abuse their power so devastatingly.

The series lifts the lid on the cases of David Carrick, a former Met police officer and one of Britain’s worst serial rapists; Kashif Mahmoud, a former Met officer who exploited his position to steal hundreds of thousands of pounds from criminal gangs; Martin Forshaw, a former Cheshire police constable who murdered his fiancée and tried to make it look like a car accident; Rodney Whitchelo, a former Met officer who took contaminated baby and dog food and put it on supermarket shelves as part of a bizarre extortion plot; and Michael Coulton, a police officer assigned to royal protection duties at Buckingham Palace who hatched an elaborate plan to murder his wife.

The series will also take viewers outside of the U.K. and delve into two cases from the U.S. and Australia. It will examine the cases of Drew Peterson, an American cop who murdered his third wife in her bathroom and tried to make it look like an accident, a fact that only came to light when police began investigating him after his fourth wife disappeared, and Mark Standen, an ex-chief investigative officer at the New South Wales Crime Commission who was found guilty of conspiracy to import and deal drugs on a massive scale.

The series will air on Crime+Investigation in the U.K. and throughout Europe in 2024. In the U.K., it will also be available via Crime+Investigation Play. ITN Productions is co-producing the series with Krempelwood.

“I’m really pleased to be back for Cops Gone Bad,” Mellor said. “In this series, we’ll be examining cases of corrupt officers from the U.K., U.S. and Australia, and whilst the majority of cops do an amazing job every day, it’s important to hold those that don’t to account.”

“At a time when police conduct is under greater scrutiny than ever, Crime+Investigation is leading the way in exploring cases from the recent past which reveal where and how the many problems in policing culture have emerged,” noted Dan Korn, VP of programming at A+E Networks UK.

Caroline Short, executive producer for ITN Productions, commented, “We are delighted to work alongside Will Mellor and Crime+Investigation on this series, which exposes wrongdoing from those in a position of power and trust.”

Blair Krempel and Mark Wood, executive producers for Krempelwood, added,  “Having funded the successful series Cops Who Kill, we’re delighted to be back working with ITN Productions and Crime+Investigation in financing Cops Gone Bad. We love a returning series.”