Five Daughters

Spread over three nights, this BBC drama on the murders in Ipswich of five women in the run up to Christmas 2006 made for challenging and occasionally disturbing viewing. That time-proximity today to the actual events only heightens the required empathy and sympathy of the programme-makers to the subject matter and this it patently does, from the title of the piece onwards (the original tabloid coverage of the killings unfeelingly focused on the murdered women all being prostitutes, dehumanising the victims at a stroke).

For me, probably like most UK residents, the two most remembered TV images from the original investigation were firstly the CCTV images of one of the young women heading into the red light district on the local train, preening herself, readying herself for her "work" and just as tragically the fact that another of the victims was actually interviewed by national TV (her back to camera, obviously) before being killed the next night.

Boldly and justifiably, the drama makes no concession to the murderer at all, concentrating wholly on the lives and desperate motivations of the women themselves. There's zero sensationalism either, with the murders themselves only suggested by the killer's car ominously approaching the victims at night-time. He's duly caught at the end, but in no sense was this a conventional crime drama.

That said, I did personally find the candid insight into the drug addicted, poverty driven lives of the prostitutes disturbing and hard to stomach at times and occasionally the dialogue tended to be, although only very occasionally, maudlin and over-ripe. The ensemble acting was laudably grounded in realism, although not wholly consistent, if anything, I appreciated more the actors playing the over-run police service than those portraying either the victims or their families.

My biggest qualm however was that the story opened with one girl already murdered with no background story at all to her situation, making me wonder if her family denied the producers access to her information. For me this did however imbalance the whole, almost reducing the drama to "four daughters" but all told, this was a commendably brave approach to a difficult subject, treating its difficult central, characters by and large with honesty and dignity, as they deserved.

This tragic story of the murders of these 5 desperate girls was superbly acted by a terrific cast of brilliant actors. Excellent scripts and perfect pacing all came together to portray the trauma suffered not only by these girls and their loved ones, but the tragic suffering of victims of drug abuse. It was also a revelation of how poorly financed and understaffed the agencies are that work so hard to help girls like these and others in a variety of horrific situations.

Something though was really wrong with the poor filming, photography, sound and lighting. Not only did it let the actors down, who all did such incredible work, but it somehow made it very obvious that they were just on different film sets and at various film locations with a filmcrew that were taking shots from different angles with microphones nearby. They constantly broke the fourth wall in very negative ways. The BBC are usually so much better than this. Was it due to a low budget or just inferior camera, sound and lighting crews? Such a shame! An important series as this deserved far better treatment.

This three-part series was just broadcast by TVOntario and gave a compelling, well-acted, and probably realistic account of what happened just a few years ago in a town that I wouldn't have imagined had a "red light" area (I'm recalling a TV production of "East of Ipswich" I saw years ago). The rough and suddenly dangerous lives of street prostitutes, some quite young and even presentable-looking, who walk the streets to feed a drug habit was well-done, as were their individual backgrounds and the difficulty they had keeping off substance abuse. I remember news reports of the time saying that public and official (including Prime Minister Blair) reactions to the killings were sympathetic to the victims (reaction to the victims of the "Yorkshire Ripper" was, reportedly, less so), and here the police are portrayed as compassionate if somewhat overwhelmed by the situation. The actual killer is apprehended toward the end of the third part; there's no explanation to his motive, only that he himself frequented--and finally murdered--streetwalkers. If anything, this drama recalled "Band of Gold," set in an even rougher milieu and with some of the same actors (David Bradley and one of the police officers) involved.One note of hope: the conclusion of the drama says that some of the girls were able to straighten out and leave the dangerous streets.

I was expecting another Whodunnit drama series which i didn't mind watching as i was bored out of my skull on a Sunday night. But this was amazing right from the word go.

Jaimie Winstone was best by far. But it was very sensitive to the Ipswich families involved and yet maintained A VERY good drama. It dealt with the motives behind prostitution very well.

In some parts i wanted to cry and others Scream at these girls for working on the streets. But it was damn well worth the watch. Its so good I think i might get it on DVD. Which would be the first mini series i ever think is worth the buy.

As someone from Ipswich myself, I remember the Ipswich serial murders well and so felt a little uncomfortable when the BBC announced they were to make a drama about the events. What can I say? It is absolutely superb. The acting, the whole production cannot be faulted. The series clearly benefits from testimonies given by the families which writer, Stephen Butchard has incorporated into the script to give a true version of events and not a sensationalised account. 'Five Daughters' rejects the stereotype given by the media at the time of these events and portrays the victims as what they were: someone's daughter, sister, aunt etc. A very very good drama on behalf of the BBC which I think should be watched by everyone.