Fury over Amanda Knox movie

Panettiere Amanda Knox film slammed

Hayden Panettiere plays Amanda Knox in the film

A TV film based on the real life murder of Meredith Kercher starring Hayden Panettiere has apparently been slammed by the British student’s father.

John Kercher said the production – which shows his daughter being grabbed by actors playing Raffaele Sollecito and Rudy Guede – was “absolutely horrific”.

Mr Kercher told The Sun: “To actually see it like this is very distressing.”

He went on: “The scenes are absolutely horrific. It’s awful what these film people have done.”

The 21-year-old British murder victim, from Coulsdon, Surrey, is played by actress Amanda Fernando Stevens, while Heroes star Hayden is cast as Amanda Knox.

The movie, called Amanda Knox: Murder On Trial In Italy, is billed as being “based on a true story” and comes with the tagline: “There are two sides to every story.”

Images have been released in a trailer for the film, which will air on US channel Lifetime on February 21.

The blurb reads: “Knox was painted as an oversexed, remorseless killer during her two-year trial leading up to her conviction and subsequent sentencing to 26 years in jail.”

The film poses the question of whether Knox committed the crime in November 2007 or was herself a victim.

Its screening comes in the middle of her appeal process which, if successful, could result in her guilty verdict being overturned or her sentence being slashed.