THREE MOTHERS, TWO BABIES AND A SCANDAL
18 November 2022
THREE MOTHERS, TWO BABIES AND A SCANDAL
Three Mothers, Two Babies and A Scandal is our debut Amazon Original series The three part documentary launched in November 2022 on Amazon Prime Video.
It tells the staggering story of three mothers embroiled in the first big scandal of the internet age - accused of buying and selling babies online.
At the turn of the millennium, Judith Kilshaw and her husband Alan were living in a farmhouse in north Wales. They had two young sons but wanted to expand their family. It was the early days of the internet, opening up a world of communication where anything seemed possible. The Kilshaws found twin baby girls on a US adoption site, born to a young American mother, Tranda. They flew over to America to collect their new children.
But when Judith and Alan returned home to Wales with their young daughters, global outrage ensued. The Kilshaws were accused of buying the babies online. The new World Wide Web appeared to facilitate a global baby trade.
Then a second couple emerged – the Allens from California - claiming the twins had been kidnapped from their home. As the world's media descended on both families, the birth mother Tranda re-entered the fray.
Three Mothers, Two Babies and A Scandal was nominated for Best Documentary series at the 2023 Grierson awards.
The series won the BAFTA Scotland award for Factual Series in November 2023, with series director Alice McMahon-Major nominated in the Director, Factual category.
Most recently, Three Mothers was nominated for Best Documentary series at the 2024 Broadcast Awards.
You can watch Three Mothers, Two Babies and a Scandal here.
Photo Credit: BAFTA / Getty
The story of “the internet twins” – perhaps better known as the “cash for babies” scandal – has so many bizarre twists and turns, and such an extensive cast of eccentric characters, it could fill not just a tabloid but an entire newspaper stand.
The Independent
Three Mothers, Two Babies and a Scandal (Prime Video) is a thoroughly gripping three-part documentary, though as it begins with a woman denying that she was “buying and selling babies”, it’s hard to see how this tale could have been anything but fascinating. It could, however, have been salacious, and it is a testament to the makers that it manages to be both engrossing as well as sensitive to all involved. It tells the story of three women, the mothers of the title, who became involved in an adoption scandal partially caused by the unregulated earlyish days of the internet.... What happens next is astonishing, and as you watch each episode, that feeling of astonishment only grows.
The Guardian
This week's ten to watch - number 1: Three Mothers, Two Babies and a Scandal
The i
