TV preview: Rillington Place

Tim Roth and Samantha Morton star in a new drama inspired by the infamous Rillington Place murders.
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Based on real life events, this tense thriller explores the crimes of John Christie and the subsequent tragic miscarriage of justice in 1940s and 50s London.

The three-part drama begins as Christie, a former West Yorkshire reserve policeman, and his estranged wife Ethel moving into 10 Rillington Place.

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Christie murdered at least eight women – including his wife, Ethel – by strangling them in the flat. He moved out in March 1953 and soon afterwards the bodies of three of his victims were discovered hidden in an alcove in the kitchen. His wife’s body was found beneath the floorboards of the front room. Christie was arrested and convicted of his wife’s murder, for which he was hanged.

Rillington Place is told from the viewpoint of Christie, Ethel, and their neighbour Timothy Evans, who was falsely accused of murdering his wife and infant daughter and hanged.

Hilary Salmon, Head of BBC Drama Production England, said: “Ed Whitmore and Tracey Malone have written three brilliant scripts.”

Rillington Place, BBC1, Tuesday, 9pm

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