McCanns tell Oprah of 'terror' on realising Madeleine was missing

MILLIONS of US television viewers last night watched as Kate and Gerry McCann recalled the "terror" and "absolute helplessness" of discovering that their daughter was missing.

In their first American TV interview since Madeleine's disappearance two years ago, the couple told chat show host Oprah Winfrey of their hopes that she might still be found.

The US screening of the hour-long programme came just a day after the second anniversary of Madeleine going missing on 3 May, 2007 from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal.

Holding hands throughout the interview, the McCanns wore the yellow and green wristbands that have become a symbol of their campaign.

Mrs McCann choked back tears as they watched footage of Madeleine. Her husband put a reassuring arm around her shoulder as the show cut back to the studio interview.

During a section filmed at the family home in Leicestershire, Mrs McCann broke into tears as she showed pictures drawn by Madeleine that she could not bring herself to remove from a refrigerator.

Addressing their much criticised decision to leave their children unsupervised in the holiday apartment as they ate at a nearby restaurant with friends, Mrs McCann told Oprah: "I could persecute myself every day about that and I feel awful that we weren't there."

The couple said they took turns with friends to check on the children every 30 minutes and Mr McCann said he saw Madeleine in bed at 9pm. Shortly after that time, a friend from the group saw a man carrying a child the couple now believe to be Madeleine.

Mrs McCann recalled that she checked on the children at 10pm and found the door ajar and Madeleine's bed empty.

She said she noticed the apartment shutters were open, adding: "That was when I knew that someone had taken her … a child could not open those shutters."

The McCanns quickly alerted the media, holding their first press conference the day after Madeleine went missing. Asked about the decision to involve the press, Mr McCann said: "After a few hours, our friends were saying 'contact the media'.

"The Portuguese police were saying 'no, no media', but we were desperate at that point."

Asked about her seemingly calm demeanour in front of the cameras in the days after Madeleine's disappearance, Mrs McCann said: "I'd spent 72 hours crying, and you suddenly almost feel a little bit numb."

A behavioural expert had given the couple advice on how to behave at the press conference, she said, adding: "They said, 'It's quite important that you don't show any emotion because the abductor could get some kind of adverse kick out of it'."

Struggling to hold back tears Mrs McCann added: "She was just really good company, you know. She was just like my little friend, sort of, all the time."

She told Oprah: "It's (little] things you worry about as well. Is someone brushing her teeth? Is someone rubbing her tummy if she's not feeling well? It's all those things you do as a mother."

Four months after Madeleine vanished, Portuguese detectives formally named the McCanns suspects. Mrs McCann said: "Just when you think things can't get any worse

… it suddenly dawned on me that they weren't looking for Madeleine and they weren't looking for the abductor."

The Oprah Winfrey Show will be aired in the UK today. Sky and Virgin TV viewers can see the programme on Diva TV at 8pm.