Something Different to Do in Newcastle This Weekend: Meet a Former Cold Case Detective

If you are looking for something different to do in Newcastle this weekend, Saturday afternoon offers an opportunity to step inside the realities of cold case investigation with someone who has spent decades doing the work.

On Saturday 22 August 2026, former cold case detective Andrea Richards will join True Crime Collab live on screen at Maldron Hotel Newcastle for an afternoon exploring cold cases, major investigations and the realities of policing serious crime. Please note that while Andrea will be joining us live on screen rather than being physically present in the room, we will all be gathering together physically in Newcastle city centre for the event.

Rather than simply retelling cases, the event will focus on what happens behind the scenes when an investigation stalls, evidence has to be reconsidered and detectives return to cases that may have remained unresolved for years.

A different kind of Saturday in Newcastle

Newcastle has no shortage of things to do at the weekend. This event offers something slightly less conventional.

From 12pm to 2pm, we will be bringing together people interested in true crime, policing, investigation and the decisions that shape major enquiries.

Andrea will speak from her own investigative experience, including cases she has personally worked on. The afternoon will also include an audience Q&A, so there will be an opportunity to ask questions directly rather than simply listen to a prepared talk.

You do not need specialist knowledge of policing or criminology to attend. Curiosity is enough.

What really happens when a case goes cold?

The phrase cold case is familiar from documentaries, podcasts and true crime programmes, but the reality of returning to an unresolved investigation can be considerably more complicated.

What happens when progress stops?

When does an old case become worth reviewing again?

What changes when forensic technology advances?

How do investigators approach evidence that has already been examined?

And what is it actually like to work on a case where families may have been waiting years, or even decades, for answers?

These are some of the questions Andrea will explore during the afternoon.

Drawing on her experience of major investigations and cold case reviews, she will discuss how cases evolve over time, what happens when investigators revisit earlier decisions and why the public understanding of serious crime investigations can sometimes differ markedly from the reality.

The cases behind the conversation

If you would like some background before Saturday, two documentaries explore cases connected to Andrea's investigative work.

The first concerns the murders of Wendy Knell and Caroline Pierce, two young women murdered in Kent in 1987.

Their murders remained unsolved for decades before advances in forensic science allowed investigators to revisit evidence from the original enquiries. Andrea was involved in the subsequent cold case investigation.

The case is explored in Secrets of a Murder Detective, Series 2 Episode 1, “Horrors of Inhumanity”, available on ITVX.

Andrea's work is also connected to the investigation into the disappearance and murder of Debbie Griggs, whose case is explored in The Vanishing of Debbie Griggs on Sky Crime and NOW.

Watching the documentaries is completely optional. During the event, the cases provide a starting point for a wider conversation about evidence, investigative decision-making and what happens when police return to crimes that have resisted resolution.

Policing, true crime and what happens behind the scenes

The afternoon will also look at a tension that has become increasingly important as true crime has grown online.

Major investigations now exist alongside constant commentary from social media, podcasts, documentaries and online communities. Information can circulate extremely quickly, while investigators may be unable to explain publicly what they know, what they are considering or why particular decisions have been made.

Andrea will explore some of the misconceptions that can develop around police investigations and the practical pressures detectives face while working serious crimes.

For anyone interested in true crime, it is an opportunity to examine cases from a perspective that is often difficult to access: that of someone who has actually worked inside the investigation.

Ask a former cold case detective your questions

A substantial part of the afternoon will be dedicated to audience questions.

You might want to know how investigators decide which cold cases to reopen, how forensic developments change an enquiry, what working on unresolved cases feels like, or what television documentaries tend to leave out.

The Q&A gives the room the chance to take the conversation somewhere a documentary cannot.

That is an important part of how we approach True Crime Collab events. The aim is to create space for informed discussion, curiosity and access to people with direct experience of the subjects we explore.

Looking for something unusual to do in Newcastle this weekend?

If your usual Saturday involves shopping, lunch, the cinema or another trip around the city centre, this offers a rather different way to spend an afternoon.

The event takes place in Newcastle city centre at Maldron Hotel, running from 12pm until 2pm on Saturday 22 August.

It may particularly appeal if you are interested in:

• true crime and criminal investigations;
• cold cases and forensic developments;
• policing and detective work;
• how real investigations differ from television portrayals;
• hearing directly from people with professional experience; or
• simply finding something different to do in Newcastle this weekend.

You can come because you already follow the cases, because you are interested in investigative work, or simply because the subject has caught your attention.

Event details

Detective Andrea Richards: Cold Cases, Policing Realities & Audience Q&A

Saturday 22 August 2026
12pm–2pm
Maldron Hotel Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England