The Accused Beyond Reasonable Doubt on Channel 4: Start date confirmed as documentary series examines case of teenage murderer Stacey Hyde
Stacey killed her best friend's boyfriendThe Accused: Beyond Reasonable Doubt is about to land on Channel 4 and, during this series, viewers will examine the cast of Stacey Hyde, jailed for murdering her best friend’s boyfriend when she was just 17 – but when does it start?
Viewers will be invited to ponder over four separate cases of criminals fighting their convictions in the gritty show, including Stacey.
Stacey stabbed Vince Francis to death following a drunken row in 2009.
She insisted she had acted in self defence and to protect violent Vince’s girlfriend, her best friend, Holly.
Yet a jury decided she was guilty and she was sent to prison.
The Accused: Beyond Reasonable Doubt will dig into Stacey’s case and her desperate fight for freedom as she fought to have her conviction overthrown.
Here’s everything we know about Stacey Hyde, the Channel 4 series and when it starts.
What The Accused: Beyond Reasonable Doubt on Channel 4?
The Accused: Beyond Reasonable Doubt is a four-part series that will air on Channel 4 this summer. Each episode will look at a different criminal case where the perpetrator is fighting what they believe to be a miscarriage of justice.
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Each episode lifts the lid on the often confusing criminal justice system, along with the court and appeals process.
Channel 4 says viewers will hear from some people who “have fought and won their freedom while others remain behind bars, sometimes for years beyond their original sentence”.
Who is Stacey Hyde?
One of the episodes will look at the real-life story of Stacey Hyde. Stacey was just 17 years old when she was convicted of murdering Vince Francis. She stabbed him to death in 2010 following a drunken row in his flat.
Stacey, from Wells in Somerset, was jailed for a minimum of nine years, despite insisting she had acted in self defence.
At the time, the jury was told Stacey had been drinking heavily when she arrived at her friend Holly Banwell’s flat. Holly shared the flat with her parter Vince and had allegedly fallen victim to a domestic violence attack at his hands.
Stacey picked up a carving knife and stabbed Vince in the back and chest. The court heard a 999 call made by Holly, in which she begged: “My boyfriend is smashing, beating up my friend. She’s a girl and I need the police, I need the police ASAP.”
Holly had continued: “There was a huge row and he hits me, and he started on… basically he hit me and he hit me, so she hit him and now he has started on her and now they are hitting each other. I need the police.”
Despite this, the jury still found Stacey guilty of murder.
The Accused will look at Stacey’s story and how she worked to overturn the conviction. She received support from the charity Justice for Women.
Tragically, Stacey died in 2024 aged 32 years old.
When does The Accused: Beyond Reasonable Doubt start?
The Accused: Beyond Reasonable Doubt starts on Channel 4 later this month. The first episode will air at 10pm on Thursday June 18, 2026.
The episode featuring the case of Stacey Hyde is the second in the series. This airs the following week on Thursday June 25. All episodes will be able to stream on All 4 once aired on Channel 4.
Channel 4 is yet to reveal the details of the other cases that will feature in The Accused: Beyond Reasonable Doubt.
But if Stacey’s is anything to go by, the others will definitely get you thinking.
