One episode contains a huge mystery – that of a woman who went missing 24 years before it was filmed.
viewer Chris Dawson’s wife – mother-of-two Lynette Dawson – went missing from Sydney in 1982. Her body was never found, though Lynette was presumed dead.
24 years after her disappearance, an episode of hit show Antiques Roadshow filmed in Padstow, Cornwall was filmed, airing in 2006 in the UK and later on Australian networks. Chris claimed at the time that a woman in the background of one of the shots looked like an older version of his wife – around the age she would have been at the time.
Chris emailed his daughter about the incident, writing: “The show was filmed in Padstow, , in England, and the likeness to your mum is uncanny. It has given us a strong sense of hope that at last her whereabouts may be known.”
But the rest of Lynette’s family disagreed, with her sister Patricia Jenkins insisting: “There is no way this is Lyn. Just the clothes tell me it’s not her. She would never wear anything frilly or lacy.” She branded the claim “desperate” and the family attempted to contact Cornwall locals to put it to rest.
Chris Dawson insisted a woman on Antiques Roadshow was his wife (Image: Getty Images)
She asked the public: “How long have you known her? Do you know her family? Does she have an Australian accent? All this would be such a help to us. Everyone in the family believes Lynette is dead, it’s just a horrible reality.”
Things took a darker turn in 2022, however, when a judge found Chris guilty of Lynette and sentencing him to 24 years behind bars. In 2024, he appealed the conviction, denying he killed Lynette and insisting he was trying to repair their relationship.
During the initial court hearing, the court heard former teacher Chris was allegedly “infatuated” with a teenage schoolgirl while still married to his wife. His barrister Belinda Rigg SC insisted Chris was trying to repair his relationship with Lynette because the student did not want an intimate relationship with her teacher.
Chris was convicted of Lyn’s murder and sentenced to more than two decades behind bars (Image: Getty Images)
Chris and Lynette had attended marriage counselling the day before her disappearance. Former teacher Chris told police his wife was “distressed” and drinking wine that night, before disappearing the next day.
His appeal was denied, and Chris was additionally sentenced to three years on top of his original 24 over unlawful sex with a student between the ages of 10 and 17.
Sydney judge Sarah Huggett found the now 76-year-old had groomed his victim and took advantage of her vulnerability due to her troubles at home.
Chris will only be eligible for parole in August 2041, after losing his appeal against the conviction. Lynette’s body has still never been found, and her disappearance was documented in the Teacher’s Pet podcast.