Madeleine campaign 'scaled down'

Heart specialist Gerry McCann said he would be returning to work but he insisted that his daughter, who disappeared in Portugal 114 days ago, may still be alive.

Mr McCann said it would be heartbreaking to return to the UK as a family of four when the family arrived on holiday in Portugal as five.

Madeleine's disappearance has been the subject of huge coverage, with the McCanns meeting the Pope, and the likes of footballers David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo highlighting their appeal.

Speaking at the Edinburgh International Television Festival on the role that TV and newspapers have played in the hunt for his daughter, Mr McCann, said: "Initially, without a doubt we wanted lots of coverage. But we never, ever anticipated ... the coverage was ten times greater than we ever possibly imagined.

"The way that it's been held up there as a high profile story, we never, ever predicted. I personally don't think it's necessary in terms of bombarding people on a daily basis with Madeleine's image.

"For me, in terms of the campaign, after three or four weeks I have been asked 'how are you going to sustain this level of media coverage?'

"We're not. We don't expect to. We will do event-driven events intermittently, trying to raise awareness and remind everyone if Madeleine's still missing that we're still looking.

"The campaign and the news stories at the beginning were very much one. Now they're very different.

"Kate and I have tried to withdraw in terms of the campaign apart from events to raise Madeleine's profile, but in fact the coverage has been so huge."