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The Never Ending Murder review – behind the lurid title, there is a family’s heartbreaking story
In 1991, 18-year-old Nicola Payne went missing and has never been found. It’s easy to assume this documentary is a sensationalist dig into her case – but there is much more depth to such a haunting real-life nightmare
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Skip to main content Skip to navigation Close dialogue 1 / 3 Next image Previous image Toggle caption Print subscriptions Search jobs Sign in Eur Europe edition UK edition US edition Australia edition International edition The Guardian - Back to home The Guardian News Opinion Sport Culture Lifestyle Show more Hide expanded menu News View all News World news UK news Climate crisis Ukraine Environment Science Global development Football Tech Business Obituaries Opinion View all Opinion The Guardian view Columnists Cartoons Opinion videos Letters Sport View all Sport Football Cricket Rugby union Tennis Cycling F1 Golf US sports Culture View all Culture Books Music TV & radio Art & design Film Games Classical Stage Lifestyle View all Lifestyle Fashion Food Recipes Love & sex Health & fitness Home & garden Women Men Family Travel Money Search input google-search Search Support us Print subscriptions Search jobs Holidays Digital Archive Guardian Licensing Live events About Us The Guardian app Video Podcasts Pictures Newsletters Today's paper Inside the Guardian Guardian Weekly Crosswords Wordiply Corrections Tips Search input google-search Search Search jobs Holidays Digital Archive Guardian Licensing Live events About Us Books Music TV & radio Art & design Film Games Classical Stage Nicola Payne, who disappeared in 1991. Photograph: PA View image in fullscreen Nicola Payne, who disappeared in 1991. Photograph: PA TV review Television & radio Review The Never Ending Murder review – behind the lurid title, there is a family’s heartbreaking story In 1991, 18-year-old Nicola Payne went missing and has never been found. It’s easy to assume this documentary is a sensationalist dig into her case – but there is much more depth to such a haunting real-life nightmare Rachel Aroesti Thu 27 Aug 2026 00.05 CEST Last modified on Thu 27 Aug 2026 00.06 CEST Share Prefer the Guardian on Google W ell done, I suppose, to whoever came up with the title of this documentary about the 1991 disappearance of 18-year-old Nicola Payne. It’s a concept so exceptionally horrifying – a brutal killing that continues on indefinitely – that it stands out even in the oversaturated and grimly sensationalist true-crime landscape. At least it bears no connection to the facts: there isn’t any suggestion that Nicola was subject to an unusually protracted death. Instead, The Never Ending Murder is about one family’s infinite struggle to endure such a loss. It’s also a nightmarishly surreal title for what turns out to be not only a sensitive true-crime series, but a very conventional one. The story, narrated primarily by Nicola’s relatives, unfolds strictly chronologically. From her father, brothers and friends we learn that she was the longed-for daughter after four boys, a “tomboyish” girl who could often be found in the pub with her mates in the friendly working class area of Coventry she grew up in. At the time of her disappearance, she and her boyfriend Jason had recently had a baby boy called Owen, to whom she was utterly devoted. View image in fullscreen Nicola with her mother, Marilyn. Photograph: Channel4 It was a misty December day when she left Jason’s house alone and set off for her family home. It should have been a six-minute journey across a piece of land nicknamed the Black Pad, so-called because it was once a railway line used for coal, which would stain the surrounding ground. Her father was quick to notice that Nicola hadn’t arrived and went out looking for her. Soon, the police joined him. As days turned into weeks and months, they investigated a vast number of leads and identified two suspects via a distinctive car. The men’s statements were “full of holes,” says Malcolm Ross, who led the initial investigation, but the evidence was ultimately insufficient. The pair fled to France, witnesses changed their stories and DNA testing was not yet widespread. The police couldn’t build a case against them. Months turned into years and decades. Another detective took on the case. Martin Slevin was obsessive in his commitment to finding out what had happened to Nicola, and used modern technology to gather enough proof to charge the same two men in 2015. Yet, flaws in the original handling of some material evidence proved ruinous in court. Knowing in advance that Nicola’s body has never been found and nobody has ever been convicted of her murder doesn’t prevent this programme from being a stomach-churningly stressful watch. In fact, it makes it worse: a strong sense of doom prevails as rewards are offered, new leads uncovered and hopes raised, before all potential breakthroughs dissolve into nothing. There is a point when you wonder whether The Never Ending Murder Investigation might have been a better title. But that isn’t completely true either. When this series was originally released on Prime Video in 2023 (it has now been acquired by Channel 4), the case was still open but not particularly active. Yet, at that point the Payne family were making a considerable effort to keep the crime in the public consciousness in the hope that more witnesses would come forward. An aunt interviewed here says the next generation seemed keen to take on the mantle of publicising the case. Last year, however, Nicola’s brother, Nigel, announced they were closing the social media pages they had been using as a way to seek information related to her disappearance, telling the BBC that “for our own sanity, we’ve got to move on and live our own lives”. It’s a development that also calls into question the ethical justifications for re-broadcasting this programme. View image in fullscreen Martin Slevin, the detective who gathered enough evidence to charge two men for Nicola’s murder. Photograph: Channel4 Still, conveying the emotional toll on those left behind is something this series does respectfully and effectively. Nicola’s mother Marilyn died in 2023, but we hear her discuss her feelings with heartrending frankness in footage broadcast on TV over the years. In 2001, she told a reporter that time had been no healer: “I feel worse now than I did the first Christmas that she went.” Later, she admitted that as more time passed, the more she felt she was “letting Nicola down”. It can be interesting to hear how investigations get revived after long periods – numerous cold-case detective dramas are testament to that – but a reluctance to twist the case into salacious shapes means The Never Ending Murder is less a gripping true-crime thriller than a haunting portrait of ordinary people dealing with a heinous event. It’s about the long tail of grief for a missing person, the disappointments of a lengthy investigation, and the constant threat of violence against women. It will leave you with a sinking feeling and a profound sense of sorrow. The Never Ending Murder is on Channel 4 now Explore more on these topics Television & radio TV review Television Documentary reviews Share Reuse this content Most viewed Most viewed Books Music TV & radio Art & design Film Games Classical Stage News Opinion Sport Culture Lifestyle Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning Sign up for our email About us Help Complaints & corrections Contact us Tip us off SecureDrop Privacy policy Cookie policy Tax strategy Terms & conditions All topics All writers Newsletters Digital newspaper archive Bluesky Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Threads TikTok YouTube Advertise with us Search UK jobs Tips Accessibility settings Work with us Back to top © 2026 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. (dcr)
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