The Long Shadow is currently unsettling ITV audiences with its chilling depiction of Peter Sutcliffe’s crimes – but not all of his victims feature in the crime drama.
Episode one of the seven-part series focused on the first known woman the serial killer murdered. Gemma Laurie portrayed the first victim Wilma McCann, who was just 28 when she died.
Episodes five and six of the series feature Daisy Waterstone as the last victim Jacqueline Hill. Peter Sutcliffe killed the 20-year-old Leeds University student on the night of November 17, 1980.
Viewers also saw Katherine Kelly portray second victim Emily Jackson, while Molly Vevers starred as Irene Richardson. But there are several of Sutcliffe’s victims missing in the true crime drama The Long Shadow…
Which victims are depicted in The Long Shadow on ITV1?
Rather than focus on serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, the seven-part series The Long Shadow on ITV1 attempts to humanise the women he murdered. He is known to have killed 13 women, and attacked at least seven more.
This is the first time their stories have been dramatised. In fact, Peter Sutcliffe – played by actor Mark Stobbart – doesn’t even appear in the drama series until the final two episodes. A spokesperson for the channel made it clear that the focus of the series is not on the killer, but instead his victims, and their families.
In the series, Peter Sutcliffe’s first four known victims are brought to life by actors. These are Wilma McCann, Emily Jackson, Irene Richardson, and Patricia Atkinson.
Last, Peter Sutcliffe killed his final victim, 20-year-old Jacqueline Hill, who is also featured in the drama. But there are more than half of his victims who are not depicted in the series.
Which victims are missing from the ITV series?
The victims not depicted in The Long Shadow include 16-year-old Jayne McDonald, who was killed in June 26, 1977. Peter hit her on the head three times with a hammer and stabbed her in the chest and back. A broken bottle was found embedded in her chest.
Jayne had been to meet friends in Leeds, but was forced to walk home after missing the last bus home. Peter Sutcliffe went on to murder sex worker Jean Jordan, 20. She had been killed by hammer blows to the head after which she had been stabbed in the body. No actress plays Jean in the drama. On October 9, 1977, local dairy worker and future Coronation Street actor Bruce Jones found her body.
Then came Sutcliffe’s next victim Yvonne Pearson, a 21-year-old prostitute from Bradford who was murdered on January 21, 1978. He repeatedly bludgeoned her across the head with a ball-peen hammer. Her body was not found until March 26, 1978.
Next, Peter Sutcliffe killed Helen Rytka, 18. He struck Rytka on the head five times as she exited his vehicle, before stripping most of the clothes from her body, then repeatedly stabbing her in the chest.
Sutcliffe attacked Marguerite Walls with a ball-peen hammer
Vera Millward, 40, was killed on May 16, 1978. Sutcliffe attacked her with a hammer, and stabbed her repeatedly. Josephine Whitaker, 19, was killed on April 4, 1979. The killer hit her several times with his ball-peen hammer. Josephine does not feature in the ITV series.
Peter Sutcliffe murdered Barbara Leach, 20, on September 1, 1979. He hit her on the head with a hammer, dragged her body into a rubbish-strewn yard, then used a sharpened screwdriver to stab her in the neck, chest and abdomen. He stamped on her thigh, leaving behind an impression of his boot.
Tragically, Marguerite Walls, 47, was next. Sutcliffe attacked her with a ball-peen hammer. He then jumped on her chest before stuffing horsehair into her mouth from a discarded sofa. Finally, he buried her beneath it. She is the last of this victims who does not appear in the series.
Why are 8 victims missing from The Long Shadow?
An ITV spokesperson confirmed that the series The Long Shadow would only feature five of the known victims. Writer George Kay says: “Wilma is the first victim but, as the series progresses, we focus on the ever-widening ripple. […] Across seven episodes we follow a trail that takes us from Wilma McCann to Sonia McCann. A trail that left so many devastated in its wake.”
He adds: “It was no small thing to research and accurately present the full impact and legacy of this case – a five year investigation that touched the lives of thousands in ways both monumental and negligible.”
Of course, it would be difficult to portray every victim in such detail over the course of one series. Talking about Katherine Kelly’s portrayal of Emily Jackson, he said: “Emily Jackson presented us with a huge challenge, in terms of having a very limited screen time to represent her story and the circumstances she and her husband had found themselves.”
The producers of the show also explained how they were not keen to show the murders themselves, instead saying they wanted to focus on the lives of those who were killed and the impact on their families.
Read more: The Long Shadow review: ITV series deserves all the awards for its focus on the victims
The Long Shadow continues on Mondays at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
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