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The Bafta-winning actor says researching Rosemary West exposed the hidden crisis of children who vanish without anyone realising, as she talks to Tara Cobham about joining The Independent’s SafeCall appeal
Wednesday 03 December 2025 05:00 GMT
CloseThe Independent launches SafeCall campaign to help reach every missing child
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Acclaimed actor Monica Dolan has spoken movingly about researching the plight of missing young people who “no one even notices have gone”, while preparing to play the role of serial killer Rosemary West.
The Bafta-winning star shared how she was affected by these revelations, which triggered “nightmares about the faces of the young people”, as she became the latest star to back The Independent’s SafeCall campaign.
Alongside Missing People, a charity Ms Dolan has worked closely with ever since playing West, this publication is raising money to launch a vital new service for children in crisis.
She told The Independent: “One of the things that really struck me about that case was that some of those young people had been missing for 20 years or more – and no one was looking for them, no one had even noticed that they’d gone. That struck me more than the violence. I think that was something that I learned through doing it.”
The 56-year-old has since urged the public to donate to the appeal as momentum builds behind efforts to set up the free, round-the-clock service, with more than £75,000 received in donations so far.
Donate here or text SAFE to 70577 to give £10 to Missing People – enough for one child to get help.
open image in galleryActor Monica Dolan has backed The Independent ’s SafeCall campaign (PA)Ms Dolan became an ambassador for Missing People, the UK’s only charity dedicated to reconnecting missing people with their loved ones, after starring in the 2011 ITV drama Appropriate Adult, alongside Dominic West who played her character’s husband Fred.
“Rosemary and Fred West targeted young people between the ages of 16 and 25. They would have done that partly deliberately,” she said.
“Certainly, what I learned from working with Missing People and from doing that project is what a vulnerable time between the ages of 16 and 25 is. Because you’re not a child anymore and people don’t see you as a child, but you can be very vulnerable to exploitation.”
SafeCallOpening up about the impact of the role on her, she said: “It was very chilling. I remember one morning waking up, I’d had a nightmare about the faces of the young people, because I was reading books that had pictures of them in.”
Ms Dolan won a Best Supporting Actress Bafta for her performance and used her acceptance speech in 2012 to draw attention to the plight of the victims of the Wests. Among Britain’s most notorious serial killer couples, the pair raped, tortured and murdered at least ten young women and girls between 1973 and 1987 at their home on Cromwell Street in Gloucester. But many of their victims were not even reported missing at the time they disappeared. Ms Dolan said in her speech: “I'd like to live in a world where everyone is missed.”
She told The Independent: “The most frightening thing and most chilling thing is when people don’t notice when [others] are missing. It says something profound about how much we care about people in our society and culture. I think there are many invisible people out there.”
open image in galleryDominic West and Ms Dolan as Fred and Rosemary West in Appropriate Adult (ITV/Shutterstock)Ms Dolan visited Missing People’s offices soon after that speech and was “struck” by the variety of the work taking place, from a team trying to trace a hand found in the sea, to others launching legal challenges. She also saw, but was not allowed to enter, the confidential helpline room, and stressed that the charity provides vital support not only to missing people but also to their loved ones.
“The variety of work and intensity of work that goes on at Missing People – don’t underestimate the value of where your money might go and what it might do,” Ms Dolan said.
“For the families of people who’ve gone missing, the support and care that Missing People can provide them with is so valuable. Just think about how every morning you wake up asking yourself questions... I’ve heard stories where Missing People has really kept them going... they’re very much in a state of limbo, a state of grief, and trying to find an end to the grief is difficult.”
Every day, around 900 people are reported missing in the UK, almost 600 of them young people, with more than 430,000 people affected each year by the disappearance of a child. According to the latest figures from the National Crime Agency, 160,000 people were reported missing in nearly 330,000 incidents during 2023–2024. Of these, 72,000 were children, who disappeared in almost 210,000 separate episodes.
open image in galleryAlongside Missing People, The Independent is launching the new service SafeCall, which will be a lifeline for children in crisis (Missing People)Highlighting the pressures facing young people and the lifeline SafeCall can offer, Ms Dolan said: “A lot of people don’t have that, someone actually listening to them... My hope would be that those young people’s confidence would grow, hearing what they need and having that validated – and think, ‘Yes, I am valuable.’”
“If children and young people can reach out to the right person, they have the opportunity of being safe. It really is money well spent.”
Ms Dolan also stressed that other potential warning signs can be uncovered if missing as an issue is properly tackled.
“By looking into people who go missing and why they are would uncover a lot,” she said. “We need to look and care.”
Please donate now to The Independent and Missing People’s SafeCall campaign, which aims to raise £165,000 to create a free, nationwide service helping vulnerable children find safety and support.
For advice, support and options if you or someone you love goes missing, text or call the charity Missing People on 116 000. It’s free, confidential and non-judgemental. Or visit www.missingpeople.org.uk/get-help
