The Long Shadow

As a former police officer who was working at the time the Yorkshire Ripper was committing his horrendous crimes my husband and I were left feeling so angry at the way some West Yorkshire police dealt with the women who were his victims. Particularly Marcella. I don't believe we dealt with victims in such a way in Hampshire. Although it was a totally different time there was no excuse. This drama pulls no punches in showing just how ignorant these male officers were. The arrogance of senior officers in their single minded pursuit of Wearside Jack. Thank goodness we now have computerised systems that would deal with a complicated case more efficiently. A shocking drama that shows multiple sides of this awful crime spree.

Unusual, I guess, to see a seven-part TV mini-series but that was the slightly unusual format for this latest dramatisation of the infamous Yorkshire Ripper murders of the late 70's and early 80's committed by the evil Peter Sutcliffe.

This time, the point of view is switched to mainly focus on those of the victims and their families and to a lesser extent, those also of the police Investigators and their families. None of the murders are re-enacted and Sutcliffe himself doesn't actually appear at all until midway through the second last episode.

This approach for me worked, with the viewer sharing the increasing dread of the local female population of the killer's locale as he brutally slaughtered 13 women and injured 7 others (with rumours of more in the background) in the county over a five year period before a routine car number-plate check and the quick-thinking of an on-duty cop to return to the scene of the apprehension found Sutcliffe's "tools" and nailed him as the perpetrator.

The production did a good job of recreating the era with accurate depictions of the interiors of police stations, social clubs and various people's houses, as well as the cars and fashions of the day. It also didn't shy away from exposing some of the cheap and lazy prevailing attitudes of the day which certainly seemed to colour the outlook of the police who initially seemed to disparage the plights of the growing numbers of victims because they were mostly female prostitutes.

The usually sad circumstances which forced these women to take to the streets strongly colour the early episodes with a different reason shown for every one of them. We see one survivor of a Sutcliffe attack refuse to go public in case she's identified by family, friends and colleagues as a potential prostitute, again reflecting the low perception of the women who have turned to the streets only out of dire financial need, selling themselves for as little as £5 a time.

But if these women are at last shown with overdue retrospective sympathy and understanding, the same can't be said of the pursuing police. Confused, lazy, presumptive, disorganised and often prejudicial, their years and years of failure are artfully signposted on-screen by discreetly placed time markers. Their antiquated index-card system is exposed as being wholly inadequate to cope with the threat of a serial-killer, as we learn that Sutcliffe'was interviewed several times during the investigation with his recorded links to the murders buried away in mounds of paper-work. And that's before the police made probably their biggest mistake of the whole case, being led completely astray by a callous hoaxer with a Wearside accent who wasted who knows how much time and resources in his pursuit, but who in a postscript we gratifyingly learn was eventually tracked down and convicted for wasting police time.

The ensemble acting throughout was of a high standard with the actor portraying Sutcliffe himself bearing an uncanny resemblance to the real thing and convincing the viewer of the ordinary, everyday anonymity which worked in his favour for so long.

Unsensational, realistic and compelling but above all humanely told, this did feel like the definitive dramatisation of the horrific crimes of one of Britain's worst-ever serial-killers.

For many many years , really since Broadchurch, ITV has produced drivel on a regular basis, ridiculous dramas that are nothing better than day time soaps and turned off after the first episode. Finally The Long Shadow arrives and within 10 minutes the difference was there to be seen. With an absolutely stellar cast and some top drawer actors this is totally compelling stuff The subject matter is very grim but it's a story that needs to be told, especially to a generation that will have no knowledge of that era.

The victims and their families are portrayed in a sympathetic manner and all the fashions and dialogue are spot on Definitely one of the best dramas this year.

The shows creators have made an admirable decision in approaching this story from the viewpoint of the women who were murdered and their loved ones and the botched investigation - rather than a re-enactment that gives face time to their twisted killer.

As someone who was a teenager at the time I can remember how huge the impact of this long running crime spree was - and in retrospect how badly the victims were mistreated not just by their fates but by the misogyny and prejudices of the media and the police and sections of the general public at the time.

This series does its best to give them a voice and importance that was denied to them at the time and deserves to be commended.

Production values were very high, period detail was excellent and it was well directed with an excellent score. The casting was superb all round and the intelligent script by George Kay was understated and let the power of the women's stories prevail as they should.

One of the best UK dramas of 2023 that raises many questions about male violence that are sadly just as valid today as they were in the 70's and 80's when these crimes took place.

I was 17 when the first murder victim was killed and 22 when that monster was finally caught. Living in the area where these events happened was terrifying throughout that time of going at night with friends but always being aware that he could be the man walking near you.

This drama series is blessed with some excellent British character actors, and is sympathetic to the women and girls who were slaughtered by that piece of scum who I won't name. These events are still so entrenched in my memories that the names of the victims and the police officers investigating the crimes have never left me. We have to remember that things were very different then and with no DNA and no centralised police computer system, the work involved for the police was almost insurmountable.

I hope that the victims' families will feel that this series has been made to make us see them as people rather than just names, photos and, sadly, descriptions in the media at the time. The excellent cast and writers, in fact everyone involved, were apparently keen to achieve that.