BBC shelves plans for drama based on kidnap of Shannon Matthew BBC drama was set to star actress Sheridan Smith as Karen Matthews Matthews was jailed for eight years for kidnapping her daughter Shannon She faked schoolgirl's disappearance as part of plot to gain Â£50,000 reward Accomplice Michael Donovan was also jailed for his part in the 2008 crime TV drama now on hold 'amid concerns it could scupper licence fee plans' BBC Royal Charter up for renewal in 2016, potentially sparking fee change Controversial plans for a BBC drama based on the kidnapping of schoolgirl Shannon Matthews have been put on hold amid fears the show could scupper the corporation's crucial licence fee negotiations. The TV drama, which was set to star Sheridan Smith as Shannon's mother Karen, was due to air towards the end of next year or in early 2016 â€" when the BBC's licence fee renewal will be up for debate with the Government. However, production has now been halted amid concerns it could provoke public anger and jeopardise the corporation's deal. The BBC drama was set to follow the case of schoolgirl Shannon Matthews (pictured) who disappeared in February 2008 after being kidnapped by her own mother. She was found by police after a Â£3.2million manhunt The TV drama, which was set to star award-winning actress Sheridan Smith (right) as Shannon's mother Karen (pictured left after her daughter's disappearance in 2008), was due to air late 2015 or in early 2016 The show was set to be based on the kidnapping of Shannon, who was just nine-years-old when she disappeared from her home in Dewsbury Moor, West Yorkshire, in February 2008. Her disappearance sparked a Â£3.2million police hunt and her mother appeared before the media pretending to be distraught as hundreds of local people helped in the search. However, Shannon was found 24 days later by police, hidden in a compartment under a divan bed in a flat one mile from where she lived with her mother. She had been drugged and tethered under the bed by her mother and accomplice Michael Donovan, then 40, as part of a desperate plot to claim Â£50,000 in reward money. They had planned to release the schoolgirl at Dewsbury Market, drive around the corner to 'discover her' then take her to a police station and claim the reward before splitting it 50/50. However, the pair's horrific crime was discovered by police and Matthews, a mother of seven, and Donovan were jailed for eight years for kidnapping, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice. Matthews (left) and accompliceÂ Michael Donovan, then 40 (right), kidnapped Shannon as part of a desperate plot to claim Â£50,000 in reward money, which they planned to split 50/50. They were both jailed for eight years Karen Matthews lived inÂ Dewsbury Moor, West Yorkshire (above), when she kidnapped her daughter in 2008 They have both since been released from prison after serving half their sentence and Karen, 38, has undergone a drastic change in appearance, by cutting off her long, red hair and losing a considerable amount of weight, as part of attempts to live under a new identity. Initial plans for the BBC drama sparked outcry earlier this year with Simon Reevell, the Conservative MP for Dewsbury, describing it as 'inappropriate'. At the time, he said: 'I don't think it is a very good topic or use of BBC money. I don't see how it is helpful for the victim to have this dragged across the screen for entertainment.' And Rev Canon Kevin Partington of Dewsbury Minster said: 'I can't see the point of it â€" the whole community has moved on.' Plans for the show first emerged in the summer when writer Jeff Pope suggested award-winning actress Sheridan Smith, who recently appeared in ITV drama Cilla, was set to play the lead role. Speaking at the Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival in August, Mr Pope said the project would be 'extremely complex' and said 'it's very early stages' before confirming Smith's involvement. However, the show â€" which was going to be made for the BBC and created by ITV Studios, where Mr Pope is head of factual drama â€" has now been put on hold ahead of the BBC's crucial licence fee negotiations. According to The Sunday People, a source said: 'A lot of work had already gone into this drama and if all had gone according to plan it would have been out at the end of next year or early 2016 â€" but suddenly everything stopped. Matthews, a mother of seven, went on TV pretending to be distraught over the disappearance of her daughter The schoolgirl's case sparked outpouring from the community which rallied around to help find her 'The explanation was the powers-that-be at the BBC said the potential fallout ahead of the charter renewal and licence fee negotiations was too high a price to pay for the drama so it's been mothballed.' However, the BBC said it remains committed to the project and confirmed the show had not been dropped, but temporarily put on hold. A spokesman said: 'Whilst we remain committed to this project, we have decided to pause in order to progress some important production and editorial matters. It is misleading to suggest this is anything other than an editorial decision. It comes amid suggestions the BBC's TV licence fee could be scrapped and replaced with subscriptions in the biggest shake-up since the corporation was founded in 1922. Some members of the Cabinet are understood to believe the compulsory Â£145.50 annual charge for television ownership is increasingly outdated. Senior industry figures also believe a fundamental rethink is required in a multi-channel age with more and more viewers using computers and mobile phones to watch programmes on internet catch-up services. The BBC's royal charter, which sets out the corporation's scope and remit, and funding arrangement â€" both ten-year agreements â€" is up for renewal at the end of 2016. One possibility suggested to change the way the licence fee is handled is a subscription model, whereby viewers who want BBC services purchase a 'bundle' of channels, or even individual programmes or series. Subscriptions could replace some or all of the compulsory licence fee â€" breaking the link between owning a TV set and the licence fee. The BBC drama has allegedly been shelved amid fears it could spark public outrage at a time when the BBC is in negotiations with the Government over the future of the corporation's TV licence fee (file picture) An alternative model, being used in Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands, would see a payment for the national broadcaster simply rolled into household taxes. Like other areas of public spending it would be subject to cuts in times of austerity. However, the BBC said the licence fee remained the most popular option among viewers.Â A spokesman said: â€˜Itâ€™s vital that programmes like EastEnders, Strictly, Sherlock, Doctor Who and Match of the Day can been watched by everyone - not a select few; and support for the licence fee has actually risen by 22 per cent since 2004 and remains the most popular way of funding the BBC. The Government has already announced a review of whether non-payment of the licence fee should be decriminalised.Â Ministers say it cannot be right that 200,000 people a year end up in court accused of not buying a TV licence. They currently face fines of up to Â£1,000 and a criminal record, with more than 50 a year going to prison. One possibility being touted is for new technology to be used to cut off BBC channels for those who have not paid.Â However, the BBC has previously said it would cost in the region of half a billion pounds to implement. Decriminalising non-payment for a licence would pave the way for more fundamental reform in the charter review, which will begin in earnest after the election.Â