British parents, the McCanns, are in talks for million pound deal to tell the saga of their search for their missing daughter Madeleine.
The McCanns, parents of the long-missing Madeleine, are attracting flak yet again for seeking to strike a £1million deal with two of America's biggest chat show stars.
Kate and Gerry McCann of the UK are at the centre of a bidding war between Oprah Winfrey and Barbara Walters.Both celebrities are desperate to land an exclusive deal for the couple to talk about their missing daughter. If it goes ahead, it will be the largest publicly-known amount ever paid for a broadcast interview, UK’s Daily Mail reports.
The McCanns, both 39, say they have been forced to consider the bids because their £1.2million Find Madeleine appeal fund is expected to run dry by June.
But the move, expected to earn them £1million, will horrify those who have already accused them of cashing in since their daughter, then three, vanished from their holiday apartment in Portugal last May.
The initial investigation by the Polícia Judiciária (Portuguese criminal investigation police) concluded that she had been abducted. After further investigation, they subsequently stated that there was a strong hypothesis that she might have died in her room.
During the investigation there were a number of unconfirmed claimed sightings of Madeleine in Portugal and elsewhere and additional scientific evidence was obtained.
Robert Murat, a local resident, was given arguido (suspect) status on 15 May. Nonetheless, police investigating the disappearance admitted on 17 August that the investigation was nowhere near a breakthrough.
Kate and Gerry McCann were also named as arguidos on 7 September, but were allowed to fly back to the United Kingdom on 9 September.
The disappearance and its aftermath are notable for the breadth and longevity of the media coverage. This was initially due to the active involvement of the parents in publicising the case and to several awareness-raising campaigns by international celebrities and, latterly, to the interest that arose from the parents being named as suspects.
The couple's representatives have already met with producers to discuss turning the eight-month investigation into the disappearance into a film and could earn up to another £1million from selling the film and book rights.
Earlier this month, they faced widespread criticism over their decision to give an interview to glossy society magazine Vanity Fair.
Last night, their spokesman Clarence Mitchell confirmed that representatives of Mr and Mrs McCann had held talks with producers from both shows, which attract huge audiences in the U.S.
But he denied they were selling their story to the highest bidder and said money would not be the deciding factor. The couple will appear on the show which can best help to search for Madeleine, he insisted.
"We have been approached by representatives for both Oprah and Barbara," he added. "They want an exclusive interview with Kate and Gerry.
"We are discussing it but it doesn't mean we are definitely doing it. Nothing has been agreed."
Mitchell claimed the McCanns would only agree to a deal which would widen the search for their daughter.
The couple, both doctors, also want to campaign for a better Europe-wide alert system for missing children, based on an American model, Mitchell asserted.
Source-Medindia
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