Anybody's Nightmare is a British television crime drama, based on the true story of the imprisonment of Sheila Bowler, that broadcast on ITV on 7 October 2001. The film starred Patricia Routledge as Bowler, a 62-year-old music teacher who was wrongly arrested, tried and convicted for the murder of her husband's 89-year-old aunt Florence Jackson in 1993 after she drowned in the River Brede in East Sussex in 1992. The film chronicles the investigation, trial and the subsequent four years' detention in Holloway Prison and Bullwood Hall Prison before her successful appeal in 1998. The film depicts Sheila's son Simon and daughter Jane 's quest for justice, as they are aided by friend of the family, Angela Devlin, whose real-life book on the case, first published in 1998, was the basis of the film. The film also co-starred David Calder as prosecution barrister Anthony Glass QC, alongside Malcolm Sinclair as Nicholas Purnell QC and William Armstrong as Jeremy Roberts QC, Bowler's defence lawyers. The initial broadcast of the film drew 9.11 million viewers.
Plot
Sheila Bowler is a 62-year-old music teacher living in Rye, East Sussex. One weekend, she goes to collect her late husband's auntie, Florence Jackson, from the care home where she is living. On the drive back home, Sheila's car suffers a puncture. She makes the decision to leave Florence in the car to walk to a nearby cottage to call for help. Upon her return, Sheila discovers that Florence has disappeared. The police are called, but despite an overnight search, no trace of Florence is discovered. Early the next day, divers pull a body from the nearby River Brede, which is confirmed to be that of Florence. The much younger police inspectors in charge of the case seemingly find suspicion in every one of Sheila's actions, from her lack of concern while phoning for help to her cleaning her shoes after returning home to her not signing in at the care home when she picked up Auntie Flo. Sheila's lawyers, also much younger, advise her to refuse to answer any questions whatsoever in police questioning, a tactic which only spurs the case to trial. In court, Sheila is unprepared for aggressive cross-examination and is subsequently found guilty. In prison, Sheila takes advantage of the wardens' discomfort with her age to leverage better working conditions and eventually becomes friends with some of the inmates, who take to calling her "super-gran". Meanwhile, her children reconnect with an old friend who advises them to do their own homework on the appeals process and to find better lawyers. Their efforts eventually lead to media attention for Sheila's case and the appeal goes forward. At the appeal, Sheila and her lawyers are better prepared and make a more convincing case. When the receptionist of the care home reveals details about Auntie Flo that sink the prosecution's original argument, Sheila is finally freed.
