The State of Us

Episodios

• 6. Rape allegations 02.06.2026 12m

  A special series from The State of Us podcast. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has pleaded not guilty to all 18 charges he faces, including one count of rape. His wife, Lady Eleanor Donaldson, faces a trial of the facts on related charges of aiding and abetting, which she has denied. One of the two women accusing Sir Jeffrey Donaldson of sexual assault told Newry Crown Court he raped her when she was of primary school age. WARNING : Contains explicit detail that some listeners may find distressing. Find more on this story at the BBC News NI website
• 5. Woman told she’s ‘making up’ abuse 01.06.2026 11m

  A special series from The State of Us podcast. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has pleaded not guilty to all 18 charges he faces, including one count of rape. His wife, Lady Eleanor Donaldson, faces a trial of the facts on related charges of aiding and abetting, which she has denied. One of the two women accusing Sir Jeffrey Donaldson of child abuse was challenged by Eleanor Donaldson’s defence team, saying she was making up the incidents – or had dreamt them.WARNING : Contains distressing contentFind more on this story at the BBC News NI website.
• 63. Is key expert impartial? 29.05.2026 11m

  A special series from The State of Us podcast. In the summer of 2020, 14-year-old Noah Donohoe went missing in Belfast. Six days later his body was found in a storm drain. His disappearance and death have dominated headlines for five and a half years. The inquest into his death will, for the first time, lay out the facts and evidence in this case. In this special series from The State of Us podcast, Tara Mills and Declan Harvey take you inside the courtroom, bringing you the evidence as it unfolds each day. A key Department for Infrastructure witness was challenged by the Donohoe family’s barrister.
• 4. Eleanor accused of seeing abuse 29.05.2026 7m

  A special series from The State of Us podcast. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has pleaded not guilty to all 18 charges he faces, including one count of rape. His wife, Lady Eleanor Donaldson, faces a trial of the facts on related charges of aiding and abetting, which she has denied. The jury hears claims that she witnessed her husband’s alleged abuse but did nothing to stop it. WARNING: Contains distressing content Find more on this story at bbc.co.uk/news/northern Ireland or the BBC News NI website
• 3. Letter of 'regret' 28.05.2026 7m

  A special series from The State of Us podcast. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has pleaded not guilty to all 18 charges he faces, including one count of rape. His wife, Lady Eleanor Donaldson, faces a trial of the facts on related charges of aiding and abetting, which she has denied. The trial is told Sir Jeffrey Donaldson wrote a letter to one of the two alleged victims expressing ‘regret’. WARNING: Contains distressing content For more on this story go to the BBC News NI website.
• 62. Tunnel ‘not seriously dangerous’ 28.05.2026 11m

  A special series from The State of Us podcast. In the summer of 2020, 14-year-old Noah Donohoe went missing in Belfast. Six days later his body was found in a storm drain. His disappearance and death have dominated headlines for five and a half years. The inquest into his death will, for the first time, lay out the facts and evidence in this case. In this special series from The State of Us podcast, Tara Mills and Declan Harvey take you inside the courtroom, bringing you the evidence as it unfolds each day. An expert employed by the Department for Infrastructure tells the inquest he wouldn’t go as far as saying the tunnel where Noah died was ‘seriously dangerous’.
• 2. The Prosecution’s case 27.05.2026 11m

  A special series from The State of Us podcast. Jeffrey Donaldson has pleaded not guilty to all 18 charges he faces, including one count of rape. His wife, Eleanor Donaldson, faces a trial of the facts on related charges of aiding and abetting, which she has denied. Today the Prosecution set out their case. WARNING : Contains distressing content – For more on this story check out bbc.co.uk/news/northern Ireland or the BBC News NI website
• 61. Bodycam footage lost 27.05.2026 9m

  A special series from The State of Us podcast. In the summer of 2020, 14-year-old Noah Donohoe went missing in Belfast. Six days later his body was found in a storm drain. His disappearance and death have dominated headlines for five and a half years. The inquest into his death will, for the first time, lay out the facts and evidence in this case. In this special series from The State of Us podcast, Tara Mills and Declan Harvey take you inside the courtroom, bringing you the evidence as it unfolds each day. A detective who stayed on Noah Donohoe’s case for a few years said he wasn’t aware of a number of pieces of evidence.
• 60. Witness accused of ‘untruth’ 26.05.2026 13m

  A special series from The State of Us podcast. In the summer of 2020, 14-year-old Noah Donohoe went missing in Belfast. Six days later his body was found in a storm drain. His disappearance and death have dominated headlines for five and a half years. The inquest into his death will, for the first time, lay out the facts and evidence in this case. In this special series from The State of Us podcast, Tara Mills and Declan Harvey take you inside the courtroom, bringing you the evidence as it unfolds each day. A police search advisor who co-ordinated the search for Noah on the nights after he went missing wasn’t asked about his role in the search until last month.
• 1. Jury sworn in 26.05.2026 12m

  A special series from The State of Us podcast. A jury has been sworn in for the trial of Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and Lady Eleanor Donaldson. Jeffrey Donaldson has pleaded not guilty to all 18 charges he faces, including one count of rape. His wife, Eleanor Donaldson, faces a trial of the facts on related charges of aiding and abetting, which she has denied. Solicitor Sarah McKeown tells us about how a jury is put together. For more on this story, visit the BBC News NI website.Subscribe now on BBC Sounds.
• The Donaldson trial 22.05.2026 11m

  A special series from The State of Us podcast. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and his wife Lady Eleanor Donaldson have pleaded not guilty to a combined 23 sex abuse charges. Lady Donaldson has been declared unfit to stand criminal trial on mental health grounds. Instead she will face a trial of facts, in which a jury cannot find the person guilty but can decide if they committed the alleged offences. Solicitor Sarah McKeown talks us through how the court came to that decision and how the process will work. For more on the upcoming trial: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8p274vmp4o
• 59. New video of night before 20.05.2026 14m

  A special series from The State of Us podcast. In the summer of 2020, 14-year-old Noah Donohoe went missing in Belfast. Six days later his body was found in a storm drain. His disappearance and death have dominated headlines for five and a half years. The inquest into his death will, for the first time, lay out the facts and evidence in this case. In this special series from The State of Us podcast, Tara Mills and Declan Harvey take you inside the courtroom, bringing you the evidence as it unfolds each day. The jury is shown new CCTV footage of Noah in the streets around his house on the night before he disappeared.
• 58. Problems with time of death 19.05.2026 10m

  A special series from The State of Us podcast. In the summer of 2020, 14-year-old Noah Donohoe went missing in Belfast. Six days later his body was found in a storm drain. His disappearance and death have dominated headlines for five and a half years. The inquest into his death will, for the first time, lay out the facts and evidence in this case. In this special series from The State of Us podcast, Tara Mills and Declan Harvey take you inside the courtroom, bringing you the evidence as it unfolds each day. An expert theory on the time Noah died was challenged today.
• 57. Tunnel area used as ‘playground’ 18.05.2026 9m

  A special series from The State of Us podcast. In the summer of 2020, 14-year-old Noah Donohoe went missing in Belfast. Six days later his body was found in a storm drain. His disappearance and death have dominated headlines for five and a half years. The inquest into his death will, for the first time, lay out the facts and evidence in this case. In this special series from The State of Us podcast, Tara Mills and Declan Harvey take you inside the courtroom, bringing you the evidence as it unfolds each day. Whether the public could easily access the storm drain area was debated in evidence today.
• 56. Jury sees body in tunnel 15.05.2026 15m

  A special series from The State of Us podcast. In the summer of 2020, 14-year-old Noah Donohoe went missing in Belfast. Six days later his body was found in a storm drain. His disappearance and death have dominated headlines for five and a half years. The inquest into his death will, for the first time, lay out the facts and evidence in this case. In this special series from The State of Us podcast, Tara Mills and Declan Harvey take you inside the courtroom, bringing you the evidence as it unfolds each day. The court was silent as bodycam footage taken by the police officer who found Noah's body was shown to the jury. The officer also described what he thought were finger marks inside the tunnel.
• 55. Mystery call to Noah 14.05.2026 16m

  A special series from The State of Us podcast. In the summer of 2020, 14-year-old Noah Donohoe went missing in Belfast. Six days later his body was found in a storm drain. His disappearance and death have dominated headlines for five and a half years. The inquest into his death will, for the first time, lay out the facts and evidence in this case. In this special series from The State of Us podcast, Tara Mills and Declan Harvey take you inside the courtroom, bringing you the evidence as it unfolds each day. A mystery call was made to Noah’s phone from his own number on the night before he went missing. A digital forensics expert told the inquest he couldn’t explain it.Guidance: References in this episode to the ‘Holiday Inn Express’ relate solely to a mobile phone cell mast which is on top of the hotel. There is no suggestion that a call was made from within the hotel. This episode has been edited for accuracy.
• 54. Fireworks in court 13.05.2026 13m

  A special series from The State of Us podcast. In the summer of 2020, 14-year-old Noah Donohoe went missing in Belfast. Six days later his body was found in a storm drain. His disappearance and death have dominated headlines for five and a half years. The inquest into his death will, for the first time, lay out the facts and evidence in this case. In this special series from The State of Us podcast, Tara Mills and Declan Harvey take you inside the courtroom, bringing you the evidence as it unfolds each day. A witness who said he phoned police after seeing Noah on the night he disappeared came back to give evidence. He said he was sick of being harassed by the legal teams.
• 53. Escaping the tunnel 12.05.2026 10m

  A special series from The State of Us podcast. In the summer of 2020, 14-year-old Noah Donohoe went missing in Belfast. Six days later his body was found in a storm drain. His disappearance and death have dominated headlines for five and a half years. The inquest into his death will, for the first time, lay out the facts and evidence in this case. In this special series from The State of Us podcast, Tara Mills and Declan Harvey take you inside the courtroom, bringing you the evidence as it unfolds each day. A Department for Infrastructure official explains why he crawled through the storm drain in preparation for the inquest.
• 52. The steep drop 11.05.2026 10m

  A special series from The State of Us podcast. In the summer of 2020, 14-year-old Noah Donohoe went missing in Belfast. Six days later his body was found in a storm drain. His disappearance and death have dominated headlines for five and a half years. The inquest into his death will, for the first time, lay out the facts and evidence in this case. In this special series from The State of Us podcast, Tara Mills and Declan Harvey take you inside the courtroom, bringing you the evidence as it unfolds each day. An expert says the steep gradient of part of the storm drain added to its danger.
• 51. Panicked Government WhatsApps 08.05.2026 14m

  A special series from The State of Us podcast. In the summer of 2020, 14-year-old Noah Donohoe went missing in Belfast. Six days later his body was found in a storm drain. His disappearance and death have dominated headlines for five and a half years. The inquest into his death will, for the first time, lay out the facts and evidence in this case. In this special series from The State of Us podcast, Tara Mills and Declan Harvey take you inside the courtroom, bringing you the evidence as it unfolds each day. WhatsApp messages between Department of Infrastructure staff in the wake of Noah’s death were shared with the jury today.