What high-profile trials have played out in front of the cameras?

Cameras will soon be allowed into Crown Courts in England and Wales for the first time, but other countries have been allowing TV crews inside court rooms for years.

Some of the most high-profile cases in the US have been televised, most notably the murder trial of OJ Simpson.

As England and Wales take a step closer to TV trials, we take a look back at some of the most notorious cases that have played out in front of the cameras and a captivated audience.

OJ Simpson

Dubbed the 'Trial of a Century', it saw the footballer OJ Simpson stand trial for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.

The trial captivated not alone the US, but the world, as millions tuned in to to watch the courtroom drama unfold.

In what is now an infamous scene, the 'Juice' tried on a pair of leather gloves - key evidence in the trial - to prove his innocence.

To everyone's amazement Simpson struggled to pull the evidence comfortably over his hand, which led his lawyer Johnnie L. Cochran to utter the famous line in his closing arguments, 'If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.'

More than 100 million people watched from home as the 'Not Guilty' verdict was announced.

Ted Bundy

Ted Bundy's trial was the first to be televised nationally, as he stood accused of the Chi Omega murders - the brutal attack on four of the Florida State University sorority’s members, which left two women dead.

Bundy played on the courtroom's cameras, with his good looks and charisma, he used it to his advantage and acted as his own lawyer - even speaking in the third person.

The trial was covered by more than 250 journalists from around the world, who descended on Miami.

Many were strangely fascinated by this man who had evaded justice for so long and managed to orchestrate two escapes.

However he was found guilty in 1979 and sentenced to three death sentences in two separate trials.

It was only in 1989, shortly before he was to be executed in the electric chair, that he confessed to murdering 30 women between 1974 and 1978.

Ted Bundy acts as his own lawyer during his trial in 1979. Credit: AP

Louise Woodward

British au pair Woodward was found guilty of second-degree murder for violently shaking eight-month old Matthew Eappen to death.

She was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 1997, but in an appeal hearing the conviction was reduced to involuntary murder and she only served 279 days in jail.

The 19-year-old nanny always maintained her innocence, but she was thrust into the US spotlight, with the trial broadcast from Boston into the living rooms of Americans.

As the jury uttered their guilty verdict after 27 hours of deliberation, the teenager broke down into floods of tears.

Her parents could only watch on helplessly as their daughter's lawyers tried to console her.

Officers who assaulted Rodney King

LA erupted in anger after four police officers were acquitted of the violent beating of African-American Rodney King.

The motorist was caught after a high-speed chase and the brutal assault was captured on camera by a resident who lived nearby, in which the LAPD officers can be seen repeatedly beating King, as he lies defenceless on the ground.

The officers stood trial on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and excessive use of force by a police officer.

However after the non-guilty verdict was delivered by a predominantly white jury, violent riots spread across LA.

The trial ignited a conversation on police brutality, especially against the city's black residents.

The riots killed 54 people, more than 7,000 fires were ignited and $900 million of property damage was caused.

On the third day of the riots, King made a public appearance, making his now famous plea: "People, I just want to say, can't we all get along? Can't we all get along?"

Defence attorney Michael Stone, left, points to an area of a model of a skull showing areas of the skull where King was traumatised. Credit: AP

Jeffrey Dahmer

The cannibal killer's guilty verdict was broadcast by more than 60 global organisations.

Dahmer was sentenced to 15 consecutive life sentences, a total of 957 years in prison, for the murder of 15 men.

Many of his murders involved dismemberment, necrophilia, and cannibalism.

His crimes sent a collective shiver down the spine of America, as dismembered limbs, skulls and a human heart were discovered in his apartment in Milwaukee.

In November 1994, he was beaten to death by a fellow prison inmate.

Oscar Pistorius

The trial of South African sprint runner Oscar Pistorius captured the world, as many tuned in to watch the gold medallist's fall from grace.

He fatally shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day 2013 - claiming he had mistaken her for an intruder.

During the trial, the court heard the 'Blade Runner' had fired four shots through a locked toilet door, hitting Steenkamp three times.

He was found not guilty of murder, but guilty of culpable homicide and received a five year prison sentence.

However in 2015 the Supreme Court of Appeal overturned the culpable homicide verdict and found Pistorius guilty of murder.

At his sentencing hearing, Pistorius removed his prosthetic limbs and walked around the courtroom on his amputated stumps.

His defence lawyer, Barry Roux, wanted the world to see his vulnerability and the difficulty he faced dealing with the threat of an intruder to avoid a long sentence.

But this was in vain, as the appeal court more than doubled Pistorius' prison term to 15 years.