Nelson actor to star in ITV show about Peter Sutcliffe

Lee Ingleby is to star in The Long Shadow, playing detective chief superintendent (DCS) Jim Hobson.

The true crime drama depicts the five-year hunt for Sutcliffe, focusing on the lives of the victims who crossed his path and those of the officers at the heart of the police investigation.

• READ MORE: Nelson actor stars in series two of Channel 4’s Screw

With the victims, their families and the survivors at the heart of this series, The Long Shadow brings a new perspective to a well-documented story.

The show is said to be meticulously researched and draws upon the most extensive archive of the investigation, comprising of hundreds of case files, interview transcripts and police reports.

Toby Jones as DCS Dennis Hoban (left) and Lee Ingleby as DCS Jim Hobson (Image: ITV)

The series is also based on the book Wicked Beyond Belief, Michael Bilton’s critically acclaimed account of the case.

Katherine Kelly plays Emily Jackson with Daniel Mays as her husband, Sydney Jackson and Shaun Thomas as their son, Neil Jackson. 

Jill Halfpenny plays Doreen Hill, with Daisy Waterstone as her daughter, Jacqueline Hill.

Jasmine Lee-Jones plays Marcella Claxton, Molly Wright as Donna Deangelo, Liz White as PS Meg Winterburn and Shaun Dooley as DCS Chris Gregg.  

The cast also includes Alexa Davies, Chloe Harris, Stephen Tompkinson, Jack Deam, Michael McElhatton, Adam Long, Ruth Madeley, Dorothy Atkinson, Rob James-Collier, Charley Webb, Steven Waddington and Kris Hitchen.

A spokesperson for ITV said: “One murder has the power to cast a long shadow and this case plunged a whole society into darkness.

"For every victim, there were friends and loved ones. For every police officer, there was the burden of failure - of near misses and guilt – and the knowledge that as they failed to find their man, more women continued to suffer.

“The impact on the lives of those who live on after the death of their loved one remains to this day.

"Those who cannot escape what happened, who must sit with their incomprehensible trauma for decades after, enduring their own life sentences.

“With people today holding to account the institutional foundations that foster misogyny, racism, and violence against women, The Long Shadow will speak to the societal issues of the past whilst highlighting alarming parallels between these terrible crimes and tragic events in our more recent history

“Award-winning actor Toby Jones will play DCS Dennis Hoban, who initially led the enquiry, with David Morrissey taking the role of DCS George Oldfield, who famously took on the investigation.”

Lee, from Nelson, who has appeared in Line of Duty, Inspector George Gently, and Luther, said: “I was very proud to be a part of such an amazing cast and one of the best crews you could wish to work with, all at the helm of the mighty Lewis Arnond and George Kay. This one’s a belter.”

ITV’s head of drama, Polly Hill, commissioned The Long Shadow, and said: “George’s scripts and Lewis’ direction together with this wonderful cast have produced a sensitive and brilliant drama that we are proud to have on ITV.”

New Pictures co-founder and chief executive officer, Willow Grylls, said: “George Kay, Lewis Arnold and an exceptional cast have bought to life an important event drama that is as tragically resonant today as it was over 40 years ago.”

Peter Sutcliffe, a lorry driver from Bingley in West Yorkshire, was handed a life sentence in 1981 for the murders of 13 women in the 1970s.

Before he was caught in 1980, his killing spree terrified much of northern England.

He died in 2020 aged 74.

The Long Shadow airs later this month on ITV.