Topic Lifecycle: Dormant
This topic is currently dormant in the news cycle. It was last covered on Thursday 24 September 2026 and has not appeared in recent broadcasts.
Coverage trend (last 30 days)
How much coverage this topic got from each channel over the past month.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Recent stories
The latest story timelines linked to this topic, newest activity first.
What was reported
A plain summary of this topic, built from the channels that covered it.
BBC ONE West and Sky News reported on the death of the man suspected of being the 'Putney Pusher', an incident from 2017 in which a woman was pushed into the path of a bus on Putney Bridge. The man, identified as Nicholas Brandram by BBC ONE West and as Nicholas Brantham by Sky News, had been arrested in June on suspicion of attempted grievous bodily harm. His family said he took his own life due to pressure from the police investigation and maintained his innocence. The Metropolitan Police referred itself to the IOPC over its contact with him, according to Sky News. The case had originally been closed in 2018, as BBC ONE West noted. The family's statement was critical of the police, including the manner of the arrest and the presence of reporters. Sky News reported that there was no forensic evidence linking him and that DNA had not been analysed. BBC ONE West noted that only a coroner could determine the cause of death.
Key Claims by Channel
| Claim |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Widely reported · 3 or more of 4 channels | ||||
| Brandram was found unresponsive at a home in Chiswick and was arrested on suspicion of pushing a woman in front of a bus and possession of Class A and B drugs. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC One | Reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| Nicholas Brandram's family claim he took his own life because of police pressure. | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News | ||
| Reported by a few · 2 channels | ||||
| The incident occurred in May 2017 on Putney Bridge, where a woman was pushed into the path of a bus. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| The Metropolitan Police referred itself to the IOPC over its contact with the man. | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | ||
| The family said he was arrested rather than invited for questioning, and that reporters were present at the arrest. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| The family said police had been warned about his psychological pressure and psychiatric treatment. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| Only on one channel | ||||
| Nicholas Brandram was released under investigation and never charged. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| Police initially closed the case in 2018 after three suspects were arrested and released without charge. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| The family said evidence, including differences in eye colour and a tattoo, proved his innocence. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| The family said his DNA was offered but not analysed. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| The man was 44 years old and a former army captain. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| The bus swerved and the woman was not hurt. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Reported by Sky News |
| Only a coroner can determine the cause of death. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| The family said there was no forensic evidence linking him to the incident. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | |
| Brandram was a London banker and former army officer. | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| The Metropolitan Police stated that its investigation is still ongoing. | Reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
This is a cross-channel consensus summary, not an objective account. Consensus can be uniformly wrong, or omit what only one channel covered.
Timeline
Where this topic appeared. Cells show coverage time and are darker when there was more coverage.
| Date | Channel 5 | BBC News | BBC One | BBC Two | Channel 4 | GB News | ITV | Sky News |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday 24 September 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2m 40s 3.1% | — |
| Friday 18 September 2026 | — | — | 6m 26s 6.6% | — | — | — | — | — |
| Thursday 17 September 2026 | 2m 45s 9.9% | — | 2m 13s 1.5% | — | — | — | 1m 52s 2.2% | 3m 48s 3.7% |
| Wednesday 16 September 2026 | — | — | 4m 4.0% | — | — | — | 2m 8s 1.7% | — |