The Long Shadow – ITV’s moving drama about the Peter Sutcliffe case

Katherine Kelly as Emily Jackson (C) ITV Plc ITV’s searing new drama The Long Shadow looks at how one man’s depraved murder campaign in late 1970s’ Britain devastated so many lives. The fallout from those crimes are the focus here. And they have continued long after Peter Sutcliffe was arrested in January 1981. That is the long shadow. I attended the press screening of the series and was absorbed by the skill of its writing, the extraordinary performances and attention to detail. […]

The Real Ted Hastings – corruption scandals inspiring Line of Duty

Millions of us were gripped by the BBC’s Line of Duty. As the sixth series came to a somewhat controversial climax with the revelation that detective Ian Buckells was the embedded criminal known as “H”, author Stephen King was tweeting about it, the late Queen was rumoured to be a fan, and social media was crammed with speculation. Brilliant scripts from creator Jed Mercurio and a wonderful cast of top actors made the series a must-watch event. What is less […]

Murder by the Sea: The Mochries

I learned a chilling term while researching my contribution to tonight’s episode of Murder by the Sea – the ‘Family Annihilator’. It’s hard not be saddened, perplexed, annoyed that a man can rationalise the act of killing his whole family. One newspaper summed what many thought back in 2000 – How could he do it? To all appearances Robert Mochrie, 49, and his wife, Catherine, 45, lived a comfortable life in Rutland Close, Barry, South Wales. They shared their £250,000 […]

Murder by the Sea: Miles Giffard

I found one of the most interesting, but dismaying, cases in the new series of Murder by the Sea to be that of Miles Giffard. Giffard murdered his parents, Charles, 53, and Elizabeth, 56, at the family home in St Austell in 1952. Miles Giffard was 26 and something of a puzzle. He had played cricket for Cornwall and attended Rugby public school. However, that was virtually the pinnacle of his achievements. He had trained to be a solicitor (his […]

Murder by the Sea: Danny Dyke

Danny Dyke was leading a double life. To mates and colleagues in the Swansea area he was an osteopath. A former rugby player for Rosslyn Park and Eastbourne before knee injuries cut his playing prospects short, he’d also had a spell as a physio for Neath and Aberavon rugby clubs. However, as revealed in CBS Reality’s Murder by the Sea, he wanted more. This led to his developing a dangerous sideline – that of a drug dealer with a sophisticated […]

Dark Land: Hunting the Killers

Coming to BBC iPlayer this evening is this new four-part series. It uses contemporary experts to reinvestigate notorious cold cases to unearth possible clues to the killers’ identities. I am a contributor to one of the films, which explores the murder of showgirl Mamie Shotton, who went missing in 1920. Her body was found 41 years later in a cave on the Gower coastline. The ‘dark land’ referred to here is Wales because all the crimes occurred there. The first […]

The Shipman Files: A Very British Crime Story

I wrote a feature for the Mirror‘s We Love TV mag this week and wanted to flag up this series. It’s a three-part look at the appalling Harold Shipman case made by filmmaker Chris Wilson for BBC Two. It is 20 years since this family doctor was exposed as probably the worst serial murderer in modern times, but it’s hard to watch these films and still not be shocked today. This is a serious, well-made series of documentaries, sensitively speaking […]

Des – ITV’s account of Dennis Nilsen

As the second wave of coronavirus lockdown looms, we all need cheering, so ITV’s three nights devoted to a drama about serial killer Dennis Nilsen this week may be approached with trepidation. Nilsen was found guilty of murdering 15 boys and young men between 1978 and 1983. The case still has the power to dismay us, being a perplexing tale of loneliness and inexplicable horror. Most of the victims were not even missed. ITV’s series, starring David Tennant as Nilsen, […]