THE LONG SHADOW - mon 9pm ITV. TV PACE. NO SPOILERS

[Blondeshavemorefun]

The Long Shadow is a seven-part series that will start at 9pm on Monday September 25 2023 on ITV1, with subsequent episodes broadcast every Monday evening from thereon.

The Long Shadow is based in part on Wicked Beyond Belief by Michael Bilton, a critically acclaimed account of the case. It sensitively tells the stories of the victims who crossed Sutcliffe’s path, as well as their families and survivors. It also highlights alarming parallels between the so-called Yorkshire Ripper’s terrible crimes and tragic events in our more recent history.

Between 1975 and 1980, Peter Sutcliffe terrorised Yorkshire in a killing spree that left 13 women dead and seven others lucky to be alive after they managed to survive his brutal attacks.

His horrific crimes left a deep scar on the nation’s psyche and have been the subject of numerous films and documentaries, but the grief and pain that continues to be felt by his victims’ families is often forgotten.

Opening in October 1975, with the murder of Wilma McCann, a mother of four young children from Leeds, this week’s first episode goes on to follow the story of Sydney Jackson and his wife Emily, who would be Sutcliffe’s second victim.

Like many people in Britain during the period, the Jacksons were struggling to make ends meet in tough economic times, and Emily made the difficult decision to become a part-time sex worker in a bid to support their three children.

The police initially suspect Sydney of killing his wife, until it soon becomes clear the two murders are linked – and the start of a terrifying killing spree.

As the series progresses, Sutcliffe’s crimes launch the biggest police manhunt Britain has ever seen, but many of the detectives harbour misogynistic attitudes that hamper their investigation.

However, one detective who understands the situation is DCS Dennis Hoban (Toby Jones) who takes up the case in its early stages.
Sutcliffe avoided detection for years due to a series of missed chances by police to catch him. He eventually confessed in 1981 after a police check discovered stolen number plates on his car

The cast is amazing

•	Toby Jones (<a class="break-all" href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toby_Jones)" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toby_Jones)</a> as DCS Dennis Hoban
•	David Morrissey (<a class="break-all" href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Morrissey)" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Morrissey)</a> as DCS George Oldfield
•	Daniel Mays (<a class="break-all" href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Mays)" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Mays)</a> as Sydney Jackson
•	Lee Ingleby (<a class="break-all" href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Ingleby)" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Ingleby)</a> as DCS Jim Hobson
•	Katherine Kelly (<a class="break-all" href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Kelly_(actress))" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Kelly_(actress))</a> as Emily Jackson
•	Shaun Dooley (<a class="break-all" href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaun_Dooley)" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaun_Dooley)</a> as DCS Chris Gregg
•	Daisy Waterstone (<a class="break-all" href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy_Waterstone)" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy_Waterstone)</a> as Jacqueline Hill
•	Jill Halfpenny (<a class="break-all" href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jill_Halfpenny)" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jill_Halfpenny)</a>

as Doreen Hill

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Jasmine Lee-Jones as Marcella Claxton

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Molly Wright (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molly_Wright_(actress))
as Donna Deangelo

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Liz White (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liz_White_(actress))
as PS Meg Winterburn

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Mark Stobbart as
Peter Sutcliffe (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Sutcliffe)

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Alexa Davies (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexa_Davies)

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Chloe Harris

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Stephen Tompkinson (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Tompkinson)

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Jack Deam (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Deam)

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Michael McElhatton (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_McElhatton)

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Adam Long (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Long_(British_actor))

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Ruth Madeley (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Madeley)

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Dorothy Atkinson (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Atkinson)

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Rob James-Collier (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_James-Collier)

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Charley Webb (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charley_Webb)

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Steven Waddington (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Waddington)

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Kris Hitchen

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Victoria Myers
[1]

@AInightingale I think they did use the PNC for some of the driver information on the vehicles and registration numbers seen in red light areas but a lot of it wasn’t up to date. The police did look into using computers towards the end of the investigation but the problem was the backfill of existing data that would have had to be entered into any computer system. New information could be entered relatively easily but it would have taken literally years to input the physical indexes.

I have watched all but the final episode. It's very good, but a difficult watch. The police were next to useless and their attitude to women was just disgusting.

I couldn't believe it when one said he'd stopped murdering prostitutes as they were patrolling the red light districts. Then the second said 'maybe we should stop, and he'll stop killing innocent lasses'. Also Marcella's compensation denial letter saying the polices opinion was that she was a prostitute and therefore brought the attack on herself.

The reclaim the night protest was the same as after Sarah Everard. Things don't change 😞

Interesting article in The Mirror re all his other suspected victims

Watched the 2nd part of the documentary last night..
Why hasnt this series mentioned the Fiver linking the place where Sutcliffe worked to one of the prostitutes? Is it because its another link the police never bothered following up i wonder..

The police followed it up, Sutcliffe was among those interviewed but was alibi'd by his wife. A pp has explained it pretty fully.

No idea why it wasn't included in the programme though. There were other attacks that didn't feature either, such as Bandara and Sykes.

Glad Andrew Laptew and the uniformed officers who showed a bit of initiative are finally getting credit. The senior Ripper investigators did not 'catch' Sutcliffe,

As previously mentioned, try to watch The Yorkshire Ripper Files - 1 and 2 have been on BBC2 on Sundays, so they should be on iplayer. It explains so much, and interviews survivor Tracey Brown, Olive Smelt’s daughter, Wilma McCann’s son, Emily Jackson’s son.

The third part covers the trial which obviously wasn’t covered by the Long Shadow. It’s fascinating and chilling to watch.

Didn't Wilma's daughter take her own life? So awful. The kids were given to their father, who was brutal. Nothing but respect for Richard McCann and how he has turned his life around.

@AInightingale I think there were some brilliant pieces of individual detective work (the five pound note inquiry, the tire tracks research, David Zackrisson’s report on why the Wearside Jack tape and letters had to be a hoax) but they were never properly brought together and used to direct and focus the investigation.

I imagine The Yorkshire Ripper Files is more of a documentary rather than a 'true life' drama , in which case I shall have a look .

I did watch all of Long Shadow but would think there's only so much of what can be shown .

Why did they take this out

Was a massive clue

So due to them lying he managed to kill more people and wasn't caught

What was 'the voice on the tapes'?

A fella 'Wearside Jack' with a drink problem from Sunderland, just wanting notoriety. He was apprehended for it years later-didn't get long so I remember, and only served four years.

@Blondeshavemorefun They didn’t lie about the housewarming party but he gave his parents a lift home afterwards (which they confirmed). He didn’t go straight back home though. Easy to lie about heavy traffic when there’s no Google maps or cell site data to show where you’ve really been.

His wife was (is) a very odd woman but the prosecution were satisfied that she genuinely had no idea what he had done.

Oh I thought you meant that Sutcliffe had been recorded somewhere.

The police got linguists in to try to pinpoint the accent and they got it amazingly close to where the hoaxer lived. There really was no effort spared with the Ripper case, it was brilliant policing on one level I suppose.

@SydneyCarton how ca. you not know what your husband is up to

The. Again wouid I know if mr blondes was a murderer

We have just been discussing this having just watched the last two episodes. We watched no 6 twice it was so powerful and sad.
But his wife - she behaved pretty strangely for some one who didn't know.
I'm sure if the cops had knocked on my door and told me they thought dh was the most wanted man in the country I would have acted with disbelief. Still lives in the same house.
I was 9 when they caught him and my gran was away on holiday in Australia I sent her a card saying about the brilliant news that he had been caught such was the joy and when she passed away it was in her paperwork.
Very well done drama, very sensitive. The scene where they played Bridge over Troubled Water was so sad.

WOW just wow.

Wildflowers99 · Today 09:59

JenniferBooth · Yesterday 14:33
Didnt the survivor of an attack by Peter Sutcliffe (Yorkshire Ripper) have her benefits stopped when she finally got compensation from the Criminal Injuries Comepensation board many years later (after initially being refused as we saw in ITV drama The Long Shadow)
bet that decreased her stress 🙄
Edited
Show quote history

Wildflowers99 said....
Benefits aren’t there to decrease stress. They’re there to give people the bare essentials because they can’t, or allegedly can’t, do it for themselves. Benefits are money taken from working people to give to people who are not working.
If she received a decent payout then yes I imagine the benefits would be stopped. But they’re still there when the money runs out - that is her entitlement. Not to be rich while on benefits, no matter how bad her health.

She was a schizophrenic.

I do love this programme although as I've said before, I do prefer 'This is personal'.

Knew i remembered that right
(see my previous post)