Sunday Night: Oct 26

Get ready for a lot of coverage on Molly Meldrum in coming weeks, as he releases an autobiography (at last) and celebrates 50 years in the music industry.

Sunday Night has an interview with Melissa Doyle plus a story from Steve Pennells on an Australian woman whose relationship crosses cultural lines and religious law.

Exclusive: Trapped in Love
An Aussie mum, a dedicated schoolteacher… hunted and trapped in a dangerous and foreign land. Facing years in jail – for the crime of falling in love. This week on Sunday Night the astonishing exclusive story of a woman who loses everything for following her heart. Trapped in a broken marriage, disowned by her own family and taunted by her cruel husband, Mahassen secretly leaves Australia to meet the one person who doesn’t judge her. Within days she’s wearing a white dress and pledging her love and commitment to him. It is the biggest mistake of her life. For the next two months Mahassen is a fugitive from Lebanese authorities. An arrest warrant is issued, she is accused of bigamy and adultery, and she faces punishment under strict Islamic law. In this special undercover Sunday Night investigation, Walkley Award-winning journalist Steve Pennells is with Mahassen during her time on the run, he’s with this desperate mother when she is refused contact with her children back in Australia, and he’s there when she finally finds freedom and returns home. But back in Australia comes the biggest, most unexpected, twist of all. It’s raw, dramatic and nail-biting television.

Molly Meldrum
The extraordinary never-before-told full story of Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum. He’s a legend of Australian television, an icon of our music industry, and a damn good friend to many of the world’s biggest names in showbiz. A remarkable career all the more remarkable because of the tough early life Molly had – his mother suffered with mental illness and his father, a soldier, never recovered from his experiences of war. Reporter Melissa Doyle, a close personal friend, takes Molly on a gripping and emotional journey through his amazing life. From The Beatles to Bruce Springsteen, John Paul Young to Madonna, Elton John and Michael Jackson – there are stories galore. Then there’s the moment that reduces both Mel and Molly to tears. From Countdown to ‘that’ infamous interview with Prince Charles, it’s a side of Molly Meldrum you’ve never seen before.

Sunday at 8pm on Seven (WA: 6.30pm on 7TWO due to Telethon)