TO KIDNAP A PRINCESS

15 August, 2006 by The_Boss

ITV1 Monday 21st August 2006 9:00pm to 10:00pm

The true story of one man’s bizarre attempt to kidnap the Queen’s only daughter, and the shocking reality of how close he came to succeeding.

More than 30 years on from the attempted abduction of Princess Anne, ITV is to re–tell the incredible story for the first time in a drama-documentary.

On March 20th 1974, Princess Anne came within seconds of being kidnapped, amid gunfire, on a public street in the heart of London.
It would go down in history as the first ever kidnap attempt on a member of the Royal Family and would leave four people shot and the fate of the Royal Family almost transformed.

Written by Glenn Chandler, creator of Taggart and writer of ITV’s A is for Acid, To Kidnap a Princess tells the fascinating story of how one man acting alone and with no political motive, plotted for and almost pulled off the most audacious kidnap attempt of the century.
Based entirely on factual evidence the film goes inside the mind of troubled loner, Ian Ball. The 26-year-old schizophrenic had been planning the abduction in meticulous detail for three years. He’d smuggled firearms into the country, organised a hideout and had changed his name in a bid to raise a £3 million ransom from the Queen which he intended to pass on to the National Health Service.

To Kidnap a Princess features a mix of dramatised scenes and personal testimony from key witnesses including DI James Beaton – the Princess’s bodyguard who was shot three times and was lucky to escape with his life.

In her first role since graduating from the Bristol Old Vic, Jenna Renshaw plays the part of Princess Anne and Russell Mabey plays would-be abductor Ian Ball.

To Kidnap a Princess is an ITV production for ITV1. The Producer is John Alexander and the Executive Producers are Bill Jones and Jim Allen.