Madeleine McCann's parents are "disappointed" after a new true crime drama about their daughter's disappearance was made without them being consulted or asked for consent.

Kate and Gerry McCann said they "had no involvement whatsoever" in the making of Under Suspicion: Kate McCann, which depicts Madeleine's mother being treated as a suspect during the investigation into her daughter's 2007 disappearance.

The drama starring English actor Laura Bayston in the lead role of Kate McCann aired on Britain's Channel 5 on Wednesday.

In a statement on the same day, the McCanns said such programs have a negative impact on their family as they continue to grieve Madeleine's disappearance 19 years on.

"May is never the easiest. We usually start to feel a bit 'lighter' at this stage of the month," they wrote on the Find Madeleine Campaign website and Facebook page.

"We are disappointed however, knowing that a Channel 5 'docu-drama' will air tonight.

"We have not given, or been asked for, our consent and have had no involvement whatsoever in its making. We fail to see how it will help.

"Programmes like this, always have a negative impact on our family."

The statement was signed "Kate, Gerry & Family".

A spokesperson for Channel 5 acknowledged the sensitivity of the drama's subject matter, but said the production team had "worked carefully to ensure accuracy, restraint and fairness".

"We informed the McCann family of both the production and the transmission date," a Channel 5 spokesperson said on Wednesday.

"The film is grounded in source material, including official police documents, interview transcripts, court records, and publicly available accounts.

"The production team worked carefully to ensure accuracy, restraint and fairness, particularly given the sensitivity of the subject matter."

Madeleine McCann was three when she went missing from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in southern Portugal on May 3 2007, shortly before her birthday.

Portuguese detectives made Kate and her husband Gerry suspects or "arguidos" that September, before lifting the status in July 2008.

German man Christian Brueckner, who lived in Portugal's Algarve region at the time, was named as a suspect in 2020. He denies involvement.

The new Channel 5 drama focuses on Kate's interrogation by officers and is based on official police material, documentary evidence and recorded testimony.

The 90-minute film is written by award-winning screenwriter and playwright Philip Ralph, and directed by Paula Wittig, who previously directed Black Widow.