It is a story that never seems to go away for the village of Southmoor, near Abingdon -- no sooner is the tragedy of the late Government weapons inspector David Kelly laid to rest than the the embers are raked over again.

This time the story features in a drama-documentary being shown tonight (March 17) by Channel 4.

Villagers will be watching the TV dramatisation more out of curiosity than an expectation of any revelation about the events leading up to July 2003 when Dr Kelly committed suicide at a beauty spot near his home.

The drama purports to tell the story of Dr Kelly who became embroiled in political controversy between the BBC and the Government over the so-called "sexed-up" dossier on Iraq and weapons of mass destruction.

The row led to Dr Kelly's death, and BBC resignations, including that of journalist Andrew Gilligan whose report triggered off a bitter and tragic series of events.

Ron Green, the chairman of Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor Parish Council, said: "I will watch it out of curiosity as I suspect will many other people in the villages, but it is something that most people wished had gone away."

The two-hour film described by Channel 4 as a "factually-based drama" has been 18-months in the making and has cost about £3.5m. There are fictional characters, some of the dialogue is invented, and there is what is called "dramatic interpretation" of events. But the producer Peter Kosminsky said his team conducted more than 120 interviews as part of exhaustive research.

Mrs Kelly -- who has since moved from the family home, Westfield, in Faringdon Road, to a cottage in Southmoor -- has always declined to speak to the media. She did not help the programme makers and there was no cooperation from the Government, Ministry of Defence and Thames Valley Police.

Dr Kelly used to play cribbage in the Hinds Head pub just down the road in Kingston Bagpuize and as a non-drinker was the driver of the team minibus when they played away fixtures.

Landlord Steve Ward said: "I have heard no-one in the pub talk about tonight's film, the main topics of conversation are the Budget and problems in the NHS. People around here want to forget about those tragic events. This programme will add nothing new to the debate. It is a drama, a form of entertainment and something we could do without. Let's hope this programme will see an end to it all."

The Government Inspector is on Channel 4 at 9pm on March 17 .