‘Simply fantastic’
The casting and details surrounding a new true crime drama about the five-year hunt for serial killer Peter Sutcliffe have been revealed.
ITV, ITVX and New Pictures on Tuesday announced that The Long Shadow, written by award-winning screenwriter, George Kay (Hijack, Criminal: UK) and directed by BAFTA-winning director Lewis Arnold, will screen on ITV1 and ITVX next month.
The series, about the man better known as the Yorkshire Ripper, is divided into seven hour-long episodes, “sensitively focussing on the lives of the victims who crossed his path and those of the officers at the heart of the police investigation.”
Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering 13 women and attempting to murder seven others between 1975 and 1980 and jailed for twenty concurrent life sentences, later converted to a whole life order, in 2010.
“With the victims, their families and the survivors at the heart of this series, The Long Shadow brings a new perspective to a well-documented story,” ITV says, added that it was “meticulously researched” and draws upon the most extensive archive of the investigation, comprising of hundreds of case files, interview transcripts and police reports.
The series is also based on Wicked Beyond Belief, Michael Bilton’s critically acclaimed account of the case.
Award-winning actor Toby Jones will play DCS Dennis Hoban, who initially led the enquiry, with David Morrissey taking the role of DCS George Oldfield, who famously took on the investigation.
Lee Ingleby is DCS Jim Hobson, whilst Katherine Kelly plays Emily Jackson with Daniel Mays as her husband, Sydney Jackson and Shaun Thomas as their son, Neil Jackson. Jill Halfpenny plays Doreen Hill, with Daisy Waterstone as her daughter, Jacqueline Hill.
Jasmine Lee-Jones plays Marcella Claxton, Molly Wright as Donna Deangelo, Liz White as PS Meg Winterburn and Shaun Dooley as DCS Chris Gregg. The cast also includes Alexa Davies, Chloe Harris, Stephen Tompkinson, Jack Deam, Michael McElhatton, Adam Long, Ruth Madeley, Dorothy Atkinson, Rob James-Collier, Charley Webb, Steven Waddington and Kris Hitchen.
The ITV announcement reads: “One murder has the power to cast a long shadow and this case plunged a whole society into darkness.
“For every victim, there were friends and loved ones. For every police officer, there was the burden of failure – of near misses and guilt – and the knowledge that as they failed to find their man, more women continued to suffer.
“The impact on the lives of those who live on after the death of their loved one remains to this day. Those who cannot escape what happened, who must sit with their incomprehensible trauma for decades after, enduring their own life sentences.
“With people today holding to account the institutional foundations that foster misogyny, racism, and violence against women, The Long Shadow will speak to the societal issues of the past whilst highlighting alarming parallels between these terrible crimes and tragic events in our more recent history.”
True Crime fans responded to ITV’s tweet about the casting, saying they are “looking forward” to watching it and that it looked “simply fantastic.”
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