When Crimewatch first started in 1984 only three programmes were planned. But tonight it celebrates its 100th edition. Originally the police were sceptical about the idea but, as Superintendant David Hatcher explains, "the programme quickly gained credibility among the police service to a degree no other programme had done".

Producer Liz Mills adds that now the police often come to the programme with their biggest cases: "But the big cases create the most tension. Often vital facts are not given to us until the last minute". Among the most famous cases the programme has publicised are the James Bulger murder and the Stephanie Slater kidnap.

In this month's programme Sue Cook and Nick Ross present some more real cases that they hope the public can help solve. They include a robbery at a jewellers in Harrogate on 28 March, and the murder of a 56-year-old man who was found in East London on 26 February.

Featured tonight is a reconstruction of an attack by a gang of armed robbers on staff at a jewellers in Stratford-upon-Avon. A police officer on routine patrol tried to foil their escape but they made their getaway in a stolen car.