Manhunt - controversy

[Hellomatey001]

I know some the families of the bereaved did not want this broadcast. I can see why they objected.

I am watching and already there are some really insensitive scenes. The investigating officers wife happy when hearing about a woman's body been found. "That's a promotion case!" she gleefully states. This scene is played out without any irony or self awareness. .

Also there were scenes showing a corpse and focus on her dead arm. That was a real person they are depicting not an episode of Silent Witness. It was unnecessary and gratuitous.

There have been real life crime dramatisations where they have avoided depicting bodies ot showing violent acts because of the highly sensitive nature of the subject matter.

I have worked in television and understand the constant quest for stories but there should also be compassion and basic decorum. I think this programme lacks a bit of both.

Tommy I'm so sorry for what you've been through. Was the person responsible brought to justice?

Yes they do say GUV.
My dh was called this when he was an officer before he retired.

I think Clunes is good in it but do wonder if it isn’t just a big advert for the book. Which as others have said it is rather surprising to see an ex cop write.

Clunes is playing the part really well. I think he’s a very good actor. He definitely sounds and walks differently in this role, very much like the man he is playing.

I think it's really good and also realistic. The police have to deal with this stuff as their day job - I can't imagine that - dealing with murder and rape and paedophiles and having to find that needle in a haystack with the media and politicians and your boss breathing down your neck. To say nothing of knowing exactly how dangerous the streets are and exactly who is out there, yet having to let your family members get on with their lives and not constraining them.

I remember these murders like they were yesterday and was aware of all the developments in the case, reading the papers every day on my way to work. I think Martin Clunes is great. Not all police officers are troubled, moody geniuses, as usually depicted on telly, many of them are quiet, thoughtful and un-flashy. And FWIW I thought the portrayal of Amelie and her family was sensitive and thoughtful, not sensationalist or gruesome.

Yes they do say Guv - that's normally Inspectors and above. Senior officers get called Boss or Mr X (or Ma'am).

I think it's a very laddish drinking culture. It's often a way of dealing with some of the stuff they deal with - and about fitting in with the team.

I haven't watched it yet - but have recorded it to watch later. I guess there's no way to make it easy watching fir anyone involved, but unfortunate that it's one across as insensitive to some posters.

I thought it was quite interesting seeing the work that the police put into the case.

I found the scene where Bellfield was talking to those two girls at the bus stop quite scary. It's so important to teach girls that they don't have to be 'nice' to adults who make them feel uncomfortable.

Yes to Gov and the pub, they’ll still be working, off the clock it also gives the chance to discretely monitor the teams mental health, after all many of them are also parents and grandparents.

It brought home to me how females should be taught to be more assertive and not be afraid to shout at the creep to f off. We are all encouraged to smile and hope the bad person goes away when that just doesn't cut it. Self defence should also be more widely taught too. I watched a programme about the vile creature Bellfield and it made me so angry he is so very evil.

Have they changed the name of the girl he ran over? Just wondering how much the families and victims were consulted and if that’s why.

The actor playing Bellfieild is doing a great job I think- very horrible and scary. Poor actor having to get into that man’s character though.

Just reading on wiki, it seems he was actually charged with Amelie's murder in 2006 - have I missed a huge time lapse in this episode, or do we think this be just changed it for dramatic purposes?

Kate Sheedy (apologies if spelt wrong) is the real name of the girl he ran over. They changed it for the programme. They also changed the timeline.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1579856/Levi-Bellfield-victim-Kate-Sheedy-recalls-attack.html

She was head girl at my daughter’s school. We lived round the corner from where she was attacked. I can understand why she asked for the name change.

Would they really have caught him earlier from that CCTV that wasn't viewed?

I thought the ending was really rushed and I was surprised that that one piece of CCTV was the 'smoking gun'. That whole scene actually with the woman from the other police station in the evidence room seemed contrived and unbelievable. So she just happened to be there when they pulled out this evidence bag that had never been opened???? It was a good drama, but the final episode was the weakest.

juneau - you've nailed it !

I enjoyed the first 2 episodes mainly because they were a world away from most police drama where a series of lucky breaks ( the van would have been spotted on the motorway from the bridge ) .

And then along comes the third episode and suddenly an unviewed tape somehow solves the case .I can believe it did ,one piece of info leads to another ,but yes ,it felt v rushed .

I thought my attention must have wandered and I'd missed some viral scenes .

If this is what really happened with the tape it was very sad but goes to show that mistakes happen and things do get overlooked. We are only human : plus they may have pulled him in and he might have wriggled out of it even then/ lack of evidence etc? I don't know but men like that are good at getting away with things.

Bellfield was so evil though: they really should bring back hanging. ( controversial I know)
It's the girls I really feel
For and the families. So sad.

I’ve read a lot about the case, court documents etc and the tape bit was true. Obviously I think the woman appearing in the room and then finding the tape like that was probably made up, but there was definitely an issue in that they did not view the correct cctv tape. As the crime happened around midnight they wrongly viewed the tape from the day before - not from midnight on the other one.

I’m not sure how true this part is but I saw an interview with one of his ex girlfriends where they said they saw the cctv on the news (of the white car that ran over Kate Sheedy) and she rang to report that she had the same car at that moment sitting on her driveway. I am not sure if they investigated that or whether that’s true.. I wonder if that’s what actually got him in the end.

im trying to watch on catch up its only showing 2 bloody episodes so annoyed

I am friends with one of Levi's ex partners. He was a monster, she is convinced that there were more victims. She said the police were fantastic.

I think Martin Clunes' performance is brilliant. It's far outside his normal range, and I suspect he's taking his cue from the comment in the first episode that his speeches come over as more John Major than Winston Churchill. It's really quite refreshing to have a central cop figure who isn't a charismatic eccentric loner/maverick type.

What I'm wondering is that when they saw the correct CCTV footage, they already knew it was him, just needed more evidence to convict him.
Was he under suspicion for the car weapon attack already? I suppose his ex with the car may have contacted the police if the CCTV was shown.