THE forensic lead of the Halliwell investigation talked about the case her team "lived and breathed".

Barbara Lockwood was one of the first people on the scene after Sian O'Callahan's body was found in 2011.

She told the Adver: "This case shook us all and I was there from day one. We lived it, breathed it, didn't go home for days and worked round-the-clock.

"When people were searching the woods, there were hundreds of items we had to analyse to see if they were relevant, something new got called in every 10 minutes.

"We try not to get heavily involved in cases but it was difficult not to in this one. We felt like we knew Sian and went to the air balloon launch after she was found.

"I have mixed feelings about the drama. The accents are awful, an officer getting a digger to uncover remains made me cringe and I'm not sure it was appropriate to include the senior officer's suicide, though I understand what they were trying to say.

"The people in white suits are always in the background taking pictures and digging even though they do so much more than that which gets missed out.

"The investigation work doesn't really get touched on and it's more from Steve Fulcher's perspective, which is understandable.

"The drama depicts the senior officers as really cold and his treatment as really painful. I absolutely support his decision."

Since taking early retirement from the force, Barbara runs the New Calley Arms in Wanborough with her son John Beeden.