Hayden Panettiere's Amanda Knox movie crash: It was always going to be a controversial role for Hayden Panettiere - compared to her cheerleading part in Heroes anyway, but Amanda Knox: Murder On Trial In Italy hasn't even been released yet and it's already being slammed.

The made-for-TV film tells the story of the events surrounding the death of 21-year-old Meredith Kercher and the subsequent murder trials in Italy, which found Rudy Guede, Raffaele Sollecito and Knox guilty.

Following the release of the trailer and film promo stills, the late student's dad, John Kercher, has spoken out in disgust, saying:

"It's so awful what these film people have done,. Your imagination runs riot as it is about what happened but to actually see it like this is very different and very distressing.

"I'm also surprised they went that far in the film. I was told the original brief and synopsis of the film was to take it up to the point of the killing but not actually show the killing itself. It's obvious from these pictures they are showing the killing."

Panettiere plays Knox, who has always denied involvement in the murder. The film is due to air this month, while Knox's appeal is due to continue in March, so there's always chance of a sequel.