Seven News Spotlight

TV.Cynic · June 19, 2025, 1:27am

Becoming Vera: a 7NEWS Spotlight special event

Plus, $US1.5 billion gone in minutes – pulling off the world’s largest-ever heist

She is the blunt-talking, bucket-hat-wearing detective the world fell in love with. For 14 years, DCI Vera Stanhope solved murders across the windswept moors of Northumberland – with no time for vanity, no patience for fools and absolutely no filter.

This Sunday at 8.45pm on Seven and 7plus, 7NEWS Spotlight sits down with the woman behind the juggernaut. Speaking to reporter Ashlee Mullany, Brenda Blethyn opens the door to her life, her career and the secrets behind one of television’s most beloved characters.

Brenda said: “What I like about the Vera character is she’s not glamorous. She has not just stepped off a catwalk, she holds a responsible position, she’s good at it and she’s very ordinary. If you met her at the bus stop, you might… talk about the price of bread.”

From growing up in a slum to the Golden Globes, Brenda reveals how her personal journey is as remarkable as the character she brought to life.

“I was amazed to have been offered the part. I was thinking about retiring anyway or cutting back on work. I was already 64 when the offer came in.”

But it’s not just the awards or the acclaim that matter to her.

“Loads and loads of people have said the show has gotten them through difficult times.”

Ashlee Mullany said: “Brenda is everything you hope she’d be – warm, wickedly funny and completely unfiltered.

“It was a privilege getting to know the character who’s become part of people’s lives – and to the woman who gave her a soul.”

Also this Sunday, 7NEWS Spotlight reveals how a notorious North Korean cyber gang pulled off the biggest money heist the world has ever seen. It’s been described as catastrophic, audacious and stunning: $US1.5 billion dollars gone in minutes.

7NEWS Spotlight sits down with an Australian former fighter pilot-turned crypto entrepreneur who found himself in the middle of it, and the CEO whose company was gutted.

How did hackers bypass security at one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, and will a reported $US140 million-dollar reward help track down the stolen cash?

Vera episodes are currently available to stream on 7plus.

7NEWS Spotlight: Becoming Vera

This Sunday at 8.45pm on Seven and 7plus

Andrew · June 19, 2025, 11:22am

Is this Ash’s first story?

TV.Cynic · June 25, 2025, 10:18pm

Outback Mystery Survivor

Sunday 29 June 8:45 PM

Reporter Liam Bartlett uncovers shocking new evidence in the 2015 disappearance of Ray and Jennie Kehlet in the WA outback, as fresh voices speak out on the mystery.

TV.Cynic · June 26, 2025, 4:31am

7NEWS Spotlight: Mystery Survivor

An outback murder mystery, fresh evidence unveiled, new voices come forward

In 2015, a married couple and their friend ventured into the remote goldfields of Western Australia. Only one of them came back.

Ray and Jennie Kehlet were a couple in love, chasing a dream of striking gold in Sandstone, WA. But their trip of a lifetime ended in tragedy. In one of Australia’s most baffling cold cases, Ray was found dead at the bottom of a mineshaft, while Jennie vanished without a trace.

Their friend and colleague, Graham Milne, was the only survivor.

This Sunday at 8.45pm on Seven and 7plus, 7NEWS Spotlight delivers the most in-depth analysis yet of a mystery that has haunted Australia for a decade. Reporter Liam Bartlett reveals shocking discrepancies in Graham Milne’s story and uncovers new forensic evidence that police seemingly ignored.

7NEWS Spotlight also exposes a bombshell revelation from Milne’s estranged daughter. In an exclusive interview, Sarah Hopkins alleges a violent past, painting a dark portrait of the man who walked out of the desert alive.

“Do I believe he knows more than he’s saying? A hundred percent I do,” says Sarah Hopkins.

Meanwhile, former ADF soldier and search volunteer Rick Heaton reveals he found critical evidence police missed, including a bullet casing and Ray’s shirt buried in the mineshaft.

And be watching Sunday to see what 7NEWS Spotlight uncovers after commissioning its own independent testing by forensic expert Dr Dennis McNevin to analyse the evidence.

Liam Bartlett said: “This is a case that should have been solved years ago. The evidence was there. The questions were there. But the answers were ignored.

“We’ve spoken to the people closest to Ray and Jennie, and the one person who knew Milne better than anyone, his own daughter. What she reveals is nothing short of explosive.”

7NEWS Spotlight: Mystery Survivor

This Sunday at 8.45pm on Seven and 7plus

JohnsonTV · July 2, 2025, 11:50am

According to a new promo shown tonight, this Sunday (July 6) Spotlight has a report on the Lucy Letby baby murder cases, including the arrest of three former senior staff at the Countess of Chester Hospital where Letby killed seven babies.

Edit: updated synopsis

New twists in the Lucy Letby case - secret hospital files and shocking claims spark fresh doubts. Could Britain’s most notorious baby killer be innocent?

TV.Cynic · July 7, 2025, 6:40am

7NEWS Spotlight: Inside the mind of triple murderer Erin Patterson

7NEWS mushroom trial special bulletin tonight at 8.40pm

Erin Patterson today was found guilty of murdering her former in-laws Don and Gail Patterson and Gail’s sister Heather, and attempting to murder Heather’s husband Ian Wilkinson – making her one of Australia’s worst female mass murders.

Tonight at 8.40pm on Seven and 7plus, Michael Usher presents a 7NEWS mushroom trial special, featuring in-depth analysis, commentary and all the fallout from the case that has captured international attention.

Then, in a 7NEWS Spotlight special event this Sunday at 8.30pm, we answer the key question: what drove this seemingly ordinary mother of two to commit these meticulously planned murders?

The people who knew Erin Patterson best finally speak out, as some of the country’s most qualified crime experts break down her motive, her planning and her lies.

Experts joining the live panel include:

Geoffrey Watson SC, one of the country’s top criminal barristers

Peter Ashkar, forensic psychologist

Damian Marrett, former detective

Tita Smith, the 7NEWS reporter who’s been following the story since it broke

Plus, the detective behind the world’s only other known mushroom murder case shares his insights into the rare and sinister method of poisoning.

7NEWS Spotlight host Michael Usher said: “Erin Patterson’s story is one of deception, manipulation and, ultimately, murder.

“Now she’s been found guilty, we will be using the full weight of our expert panel to investigate how this unassuming mother became one of this country’s worst murderers.”

Don’t miss this remarkable 7NEWS Spotlight special, a forensic deep dive into the mind of a killer, the evidence that sealed her fate, and the haunting question that still lingers: why?

7NEWS Spotlight: Mushroom Murders

This Sunday at 8.30pm on Seven and 7plus

Blake · July 13, 2025, 12:20pm

That was a very disappointing special event episode, I hope it got better - I couldn’t finish watching.

TV.Cynic · July 15, 2025, 10:44pm

“I was just so lucky” – Pilot recounts final moments of airshow crash in 7NEWS Spotlight exclusive

Plus, the sinister side of dating apps

It was the moment that stunned a 40,0000-strong crowd.

Veteran stunt pilot Glenn Collins was performing a manoeuvre he had flown hundreds of times before – a triple avalanche – when something went catastrophically wrong. His plane slamming into the ground at nearly 300 kilometres an hour.

Emergency crews raced in and somehow against all odds, he survived.

On assignment for 7NEWS Spotlight, this Sunday at 8.20pm on Seven and 7plus 7NEWS reporter Kristy Mayr takes us inside the cockpit, with never-before-seen GoPro footage capturing every heart-stopping second, and the extraordinary rescue that followed.

Speaking exclusively to 7NEWS Spotlight, Glenn recalls the crash that nearly claimed his life and his extraordinary journey back from the brink.

Glenn said: “I should have realised I didn’t have enough altitude… I should have known.”

We also hear from Glenn’s wife Tracey Collins, his fellow Sky Aces, and the pyro team who raced to pull him from the wreckage, as fuel gushed into the cockpit.

“We need to get him out before it bursts into flames,” said Phil Ferguson, one of the first responders.

Kristy Mayr said: “This is not just a survival story. It’s a story of grit, love and the razor-thin line between life and death. Watching the footage from inside the cockpit reveals just how terrifying it was for him to confront his fate."

Also on 7NEWS Spotlight this Sunday, the sinister side of dating apps.

Nearly half of Australian adults aged 18 to 49 are on dating apps, but behind the swipes and matches lies a dark reality.

In a global investigation, 7NEWS Spotlight reporter Ashlee Mullany uncovers the secrets these platforms don’t want you to know – from scams and stalking to criminal networks exploiting vulnerable users.

From Australia to the US and beyond, the investigation exposes the hidden risks of digital dating – and what needs to change.

7NEWS Spotlight: Pilot’s miracle and the dark side of dating apps

This Sunday at 8.20pm on Seven and 7plus

TV.Cynic · July 24, 2025, 1:06am

7NEWS Spotlight: Pilots who kill

Inside aviation’s darkest disasters, plus Germanwings’ Aussie victim’s family speak out

It was a routine take-off on a scorching afternoon in Ahmedabad just last month. But 39 seconds after leaving the runway, Air India Flight 171 was engulfed in flames – crashing into buildings and killing 261 people.

What makes the tragedy even more chilling is it’s becoming increasingly likely that the aircraft was deliberately crashed by one of its pilots.

This Sunday at 8.20pm on Seven and 7plus, 7NEWS Spotlight investigates the terrifying rise of pilot-perpetrated disasters, where the person trusted to fly the plane becomes the greatest threat on board.

In a global investigation spanning India, the US, UK and Australia, reporter Ashlee Mullany pieces together the final moments of Flight 171 using cockpit recordings, black box data and a world-first simulator recreation.

Aviation expert Alastair Rosenschein told 7NEWS Spotlight: “Shutting down the engines at that point of the flight is going to only have one outcome.”

One of India’s most respected aviation experts, Captain Mohan Ranganathan, said: “From some of the information that had been mentioned to me by pilots in India…they did say that the captain had been going through periods of depression, and he had taken medical leave.”

The crash could join a grim roll call. Ten years ago, Germanwings 9525 was deliberately flown into the French Alps by its co-pilot, killing all 149 on board, including Australian mother Carol Friday and her son Greig.

Speaking exclusively to 7NEWS Spotlight, Carol’s daughter Alex Friday said: “He mass murdered 149 people… including my brother and my mum. He ran them into a mountain. He took a machine and ran them into a mountain.”

Ashlee Mullany said “Pilot mental health is an uncomfortable but important conversation, particularly considering recent aviation tragedies. While the odds of a deliberate crash are still so low, the consequences are catastrophic.

“In the case of the Germanwings crash, that pilot turned out to be one of the worst mass murderers in modern history and his actions are still felt acutely by the Friday family to this day.”

7NEWS Spotlight: Pilots who kill

This Sunday at 8.20pm on Seven and 7plus

JohnsonTV · August 3, 2025, 11:27am

New promo aired tonight during the Logies, saying the show returns soon.

aarontvcentral · August 3, 2025, 11:29am

17 August

TV.Cynic · August 10, 2025, 10:26am

7NEWS Spotlight: Face To Face With My Children’s Killer

Oatlands killer speaks from behind bars

Next Sunday at 8.40pm on Seven and 7plus, 7NEWS Spotlight goes inside one of Australia’s toughest maximum-security prisons for an unforgettable meeting between two men.

A father who lost his three children. And the man who killed them.

Samuel Davidson was three times over the legal alcohol limit, drug-affected and out of control when the ute he was driving mounted a footpath and mowed down seven children in the 2020 Oatlands tragedy that shocked the nation.

Abdallah siblings Antony (13), Angelina (12), and Sienna (8), along with their cousin Veronique Sakr (11), were all killed instantly. Three other children were injured.

Davidson was sentenced on appeal to 20 years in prison, with a non-parole period of 15 years.

At the time, many Australians couldn’t comprehend how parents Danny and Leila Abdallah publicly forgave him. But now, in an extraordinary act, Danny Abdallah’s forgiveness reaches even deeper.

Five years on from the tragedy, 7NEWS Spotlight has been granted rare access inside one of the country’s harshest prisons to capture the raw and emotional encounter between a grieving father and the man who destroyed his world. It is an extraordinary television interview that challenges everything we think we know about restorative justice, remorse and forgiveness.

For the first time, Australians will also hear from Davidson about that horrific day, including new revelations about the reasons behind his actions and the devastating consequences that followed.

7NEWS Spotlight ’s Michael Usher, who has followed the Abdallahs’ story since the beginning, said: “For the past eight months, 7NEWS Spotlight has worked closely with Corrective Services NSW, lawyers and psychologists to make this possible.

“We spent a week inside one of Australia’s hardest prisons where TV cameras are rarely allowed to speak with a high-risk, high-security inmate serving one of the longest sentences for his crime.

“Danny’s journey to forgiveness has been long, complicated, and deeply emotional,” he said.

“What I witnessed inside those walls is something I never expected to see, and certainly never thought we’d be able to share with the Australian public.”

Where does justice end and mercy begin? And can forgiveness ever truly heal?

Don’t miss this powerful 7NEWS Spotlight special, airing next Sunday, 17 August at 8.40pm on Seven and 7plus.

7NEWS Spotlight: Face To Face With My Children’s Killer

Next Sunday at 8.40pm on Seven and 7plus

JohnsonTV · August 15, 2025, 9:56am

https://www.mediaweek.com.au/michael-usher-on-the-7news-spotlights-prison-interview-that-never-happens/

TV.Cynic · August 21, 2025, 6:58am

7NEWS Spotlight: Lisa Cunningham

Australian mum accused of murder speaks ahead of trial

This Sunday on Seven and 7plus, 7NEWS Spotlight speaks exclusively to an Aussie mum accused of the unthinkable.

Did Lisa Cunningham kill her seven-year-old stepdaughter Sanaa, or was her death a medical tragedy?

In her first on-camera interview, Cunningham speaks candidly from inside a maximum-security prison in Arizona about the devastation of losing her family and the impact of eight years’ incarceration without trial.

Lisa tells 7NEWS Spotlight: “It’s always been such a mystery to us why it is easier to believe that we tried to slowly kill her with this bizarre, delayed death torture story than it is to simply accept the fact that she entered into the early onset period of serious mental illness.”

The alleged killer details the final 10 months of her stepdaughter’s life, a time in which prosecutors claim she and her husband, Germayne, subjected Sanaa to abuse that ultimately caused her death.

The exclusive story also features never-before-seen family videos and text messages that prosecutors claim prove their case, texts that Lisa says don’t tell the full story.

“If you look at our lives from a distance and you go through our messages and the way we communicated with each other, you are going to form your own opinions,” Lisa said.

7NEWS Spotlight reporter Ashlee Mullany said: “The story of Lisa Cunningham is confronting whichever way you look at it. This is either a case of an Australian mother accused of an unthinkable crime, or a woman unjustly stripped of her freedom, family and voice for eight years.

"I covered Lisa’s first court appearance after her arrest in Arizona almost a decade ago and what should have been her temporary holding cell has become her home for all these years, without conviction. The wheels of justice turn slowly, but this has been an agonisingly long wait for answers.

“Lisa is adamant she has nothing to hide and wants to share her story with Australia."

Don’t miss this powerful 7NEWS Spotlight special, airing this Sunday on Seven and 7plus.

7NEWS Spotlight: Lisa Cunningham

This Sunday on Seven and 7plus

JohnsonTV · August 23, 2025, 11:36pm

Apple75 · August 24, 2025, 2:53am

Article updated to say

Update: Seven has now advised this episode will be available nationally at 9pm on 7Plus. Good outcome.

David · August 24, 2025, 2:55am

What a strange show for David to have this issue with. It’s not exactly must watch viewing. All shows are dropped on their respective services after airing locally. Why is this show, and tonight’s episode in particular, so important to him?

JBar · August 24, 2025, 7:20am

I guess sometimes it only becomes sn issue when somebody actually tries to stream something they’ve missed.

I had the same issue when I wanted to watch the Boyzone doco after my recording was cut short. In that case,the first ep didn’t appear on 7plus until tje next day.

TV.Cynic · August 27, 2025, 12:35am

7NEWS Spotlight: Australia’s biggest superannuation disaster

Insider reveals how $1.2 billion of retirement savings vanished

This Sunday at 8.25pm on Seven and 7plus, 7NEWS Spotlight uncovers the inside story of Australia’s largest-ever superannuation disaster – the collapse of the First Guardian and Shield Master Funds.

The numbers are staggering: more than 12,000 Australians’ super balances wiped, and their futures stolen, with losses totalling over $1 billion and a government regulator that may have been asleep on the job.

In this 7NEWS Spotlight investigation, reporter Michael Usher speaks to several victims left without a cent to retire on, and an insider who allegedly helped sell them the dream.

Financial adviser Ferras Merhi, who has been banned from travelling and has had his assets frozen by ASIC, told 7NEWS Spotlight: “I don’t [sleep], it’s hard. It kills me every day that in one shape or form, I’ve been involved either directly or indirectly in support of this particular product.”

Michael Usher said: “Thousands of Aussie investors were conned by these very sophisticated schemes. They did their own research, but they were duped, because at every level, these schemes appeared to be checked and verified by reputable advisers and regulators, who we’re meant to trust with our future.

“Australia should be outraged at this billion-dollar theft, which needs to be investigated at the highest levels. To lose every cent of your hard-earned retirement savings is beyond heartbreaking – it has ruined the lives of hard-working Australians.”

Also on 7NEWS Spotlight, guest reporter Sonia Kruger sits down with Sporty Spice, Melanie C, in London.

The former Spice Girl and The Voice Australia coach opens up on the comment that nearly broke her and how she almost missed out on the gig of a lifetime.

Now a mother and mentor, Melanie also shares how her daughter helped her reconnect with music, and the global movement that made her a household name.

7NEWS Spotlight: Australia’s super disaster

This Sunday at 8.25pm on Seven and 7plus

JohnsonTV · August 31, 2025, 12:40am

Sonia’s sticking to showbiz … and Sporty Spice

She can command a dance floor, charm reality TV audiences, and now Sonia Kruger is stepping into more serious territory with a Spotlight special airing this weekend on Seven.

But before you crown her the next Liz Hayes, Kruger is setting the record straight: she’s all for a good entertainment story – just don’t hand her a hard-hitting expose.

“I am no Liz Hayes … but I do okay when it comes to entertainment,” Kruger told Sunday Confidential when comparing herself to the new Seven recruit.

“If something comes up that is in my area, I am more than happy to do it, but I don’t see myself getting involved in anything really heavy. It is not my bag and there are people far more qualified to do it.”

“I really enjoyed it (interviewing Melanie C in London) because it took me back to those roots of entertainment reporting like when I was working for Today Tonight,” she said.

“It was amazing to be in London and have tea with a Spice Girl,” Kruger said.

“She is a really lovely human.

“We bonded over both having daughters. Because we both have girls, it is important to us to instil in them that idea that you need to be independent and look after yourself, and have that agency for yourself. She is a great role model.”