Michael Donovan: Last News

Shannon Matthews was the victim of a hoax kidnapping plot set up by her own mother Karen Matthews back in 2008. The story of the school girl - who was found alive - and her disappearance is the focus of Channel 5 documentary The Disappearance of Shannon Matthews.The documentary, which also features interviews with several people who knew the family - including Shannon's best friend at the time Megan Aldridge - as well as police officers who found Shannon, is available to stream via My5.Here's everything you need to know about what happened to Shannon Matthews.Shannon Matthews was reported as missing on February 19, 2008, after she vanished on her way home from a swimming lesson outside her school in Dewesbury, West Yorkshire.

A documentary about Shannon Matthews abductor Michael Donovan airs tonight. He kept the sedated youngster under his bed in a fake kidnapping that left the nation shocked and sickened.

When the news broke that little Shannon Matthews was missing nobody imagined that her mum had staged the incident.

Social media users have slammed an "evil" comedy musical about the disappearance of schoolgirl Shannon Matthews, which has sold out shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.The musical, created by comedy duo Kunt and the Gang, is based on the true story of the faked abduction of nine-year-old Shannon, who was reported missing in 2008. After a major search, the schoolgirl was found hidden in the base of a bed in a grotty flat just a mile away from her home in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.READ MORE: Sick bloke caught cooking cats and dogs as he prepared to eat neighbour's pet Her mum Karen Matthews had planned the whole thing with Michael Donovan - her then-partner's uncle - in a bid to split £50,000 reward money.

It's been exactly 12 years since Shannon Matthews went missing.

Dubbed Britain's worst mum, Karen Matthews snatched her own daughter in a twisted crime which shook the nation.

Filthy floors, dingy walls and a heartbreaking lone keyboard - this is the house of horrors where Shannon Matthews was kept, tethered to a bed like a dog - for a harrowing 24 days.

Shannon vanished in March 2008.The child disappeared on her way home from a swimming lesson in Dewesbury, west Yorkshire – and her mum Karen issued a tearful appeal on TV.However, Shannon had been drugged by her mum and her stepdad’s uncle Michael Donovan, who were both hoping to split the £50,000 reward.Paul and Nick first heard about Donovan on Day 23 of the hunt, the Daily Mirror reports. There was no answer at his flat so the pair decided to speak to June Batley, his neighbour downstairs.

Shannon Matthews and her siblings have been granted lifelong anonymity preventing their new identities from ever being revealed.