A Confession - ITV

[southeastdweller]

Anyone else going to watch this tonight?

www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2019-08-29/a-confession-itv-martin-freeman-air-date-time-channel-cast/

@InvisibleWomenMustBeRead - PACE is Police And Criminal Evidence procedure; the rules about how arrests can be made, etc.

Thanks @Optimist1 - I'm watching delayed so still a bit to go.

The Police And Criminal Evidence Act of 1984. It sets out the rules by which people have to be treated when they're arrested, interviewed, detained, searched - if you get it wrong, whole cases can collapse. In this case, the police officer didn't caution the suspect before he gave his confession and it could be argued that he withheld legal representation from him as well. Even though he confessed, that evidence can't now be used because the suspect refused to sign the notes or confirm that what he said was true. Basically, if they don't find enough forensic evidence to convict him, he could get away with it.

I don't know what happened in the real case, btw, so that's not a spoiler, just me speculating!

I assumed that's where it's going too @FatherFintanFay

Agree Southeastdweller, Imelda Staunton was awesome and really got to me.

Joe Absolem is doing a fantastic job too, really fine acting and a world away from his previous characters.

Yes fantastic acting from Imelda Staunton, incredibly powerful final scene. Made me cry. The poor woman (irl of course) holding out hope for such a long time.

Also agree re Joe Absolom, very intense and chilling.

Yes I burst into tears at the end.
Even though you knew what was coming.
She never reported Becky missing to the police?
Also how did they know it was her? Seemed quick.

Oh my goodness, that last scene - Imelda Staunton was amazing. Heartbreaking.

What's with Sian's mum's husband, Pete? Seems really creepy and controlling to me - I actually thought it was going to have been him that killed her.

Also, do people not need to be identified by next of kin? Can anyone identify a person, even when there are close living relatives?

DNA due to her previous criminal convictions.

He offered to identity the body so the dad and mum would not have their last memory of her being her dead body. A very kind and noble thing to do, I think.

He just seemed so pushy about it that something didn't sit right with me.

"The accents are ruining it for me" I can't understand why this is an issue".

Because they are really badly done, it's distracting. Imagine watching a programme set in your area and actors doing really bad versions of your accent. You would be ok with that,wouldn't find it distracting or faintly ridiculous?

I don't think this is well done at all,like most ITV series tbh,imo.

I'm interested in the actual case as I know nothing about it so I'll listen to the pod cast instead.

MrsPellegrinoPetrichor

If you want to read the full story the Radio Times did a very good story on it but that was the week it started.

It is set in my area but I don't have an accent from here. So it's irrelevant to me.

Accents rarely bother me.

I think this is brilliantly done and so moving. It's such an incredibly tragic story. I just find it so strange that the accents are such a big deal. But I will not mention it again, I will just accept that the accents ruin it for some. But it's a six episode series and we are half way through so I think nothing will change.

I think Imelda Staunton has been amazing in every episode of this so far.
Also, well done to Siobhain Finneran.
Truly heartbreaking.

I think Siobhan F and the family scenes were terribly affecting last night . I even forgave her her accent as she had little dialogue. Pete the Pilot is of course disguising his Scottish accent.

They do seem to have a huge stable of actors from the NW at ITV and use them in everything. I don't know if that's because Corrie has bred them up.

Is the implication that Imelda's ex husband lied about seeing her daughter just to get her off his back? That's really saddening.

I thought Becky was still alive as I’m sure she was in last weeks episode and the mum did drugs with her to try get her to stop doing them? It must have been a flash back or I’ve got confused.

It was a flashback PinkDay.

Thank you :)

It is truly appealing the family either lied a out seeing her or were confused about when. She was very short so distinctive and maybe they thought they had seen her.

It was just so awful in the police station when her mum was so relieved it was not her because I knew the story and knew it was her.

That evil sick bastatd destroyed two lives and two families and asked if he could get community service.

appalling

PACE

Police and Criminal Evidence Act.

The police have to adhere to particular procedures detailed in the act.

I'm not from the area so I hadn't noticed anything off about the accents. I am from Yorkshire, though, and God knows I've sat through enough dramas set there where they've just bunged a load of vaguely northern actors in there and hoped for the best. Lancashire, Cumbrian, and even Derbyshire accents are not Yorkshire accents. It is mildly distracting for the first ten minutes or whatever, but if the quality of the drama is good enough, you forget about it after that. I think A Confession is easily good enough to be let off the hook in this respect.

Really great acting. What strikes me here is that there’s no benefit for the criminal telling the truth and admitting the crime. If that guy had seen the solicitor straight away he probably wouldn’t have admitted to the second murder and that poor girl would never have been found.