Netflix shares first trailer for Yorkshire Ripper documentary
The new docuseries includes interviews with investigators, journalists, survivors and family members of Peter Sutcliffe's victims.
Netflix has released the first trailer for its new documentary series about Peter Sutcliffe, the serial killer known as The Yorkshire Ripper who died in prison last week.
In the trailer a voiceover declares Sutcliffe as "one of the most cunning killers they've ever had to trace", before we are shown archive footage from news reports at the time and snippets from new interviews carried out for the documentary.
According to Netflix, The Ripper includes interviews with "investigators, journalists, survivors and the victims' families" covering "how the prejudices and misogyny of the time played a part in these women being so tragically let down".
The trailer was posted on Twitter alongside the names of the 13 women murdered by Sutcliffe – Wilma McCann, Emily Jackson, Irene Richardson, Patricia Atkinson, Jayne MacDonald, Jean Jordan, Yvonne Pearson, Helen Rytka, Vera Millward, Josephine Whitaker, Barbara Leach, Marguerite Walls and Jacqueline Hill.
The series consists of four episodes, exploring how prejudices from the time hampered the investigation into Sutcliffe, who murdered his victims in West Yorkshire and Manchester between 1975 and 1980.
It arrives on Netflix on 16th December and is the latest in a long line of true crime documentaries on the platform, with previous programmes on the streamer having focused on the likes of Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Epstein.
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Last month, ITV announced that it had commissioned a new factual drama series based on the case, telling the story of his victims and the resulting police investigation in a six-part series to be written by screenwriter George Kay.
At the time, Kay said: "In a story full with eye-watering statistics, one for me has always stood out: Peter Sutcliffe rendered 23 children motherless. That one fact in itself demands that any definitive drama about this case should encompass far more than just the story of a police investigation.
“We will focus not just on the police, therefore, but the victims, their families, those who were attacked but not believed, those whose lives were permanently changed. This is not the story of a Ripper who hailed from Yorkshire, but the story of how Yorkshire was ripped apart.”
The Ripper is released on Netflix on 16th December 2020. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our guide to the best TV series on Netflix and best movies on Netflix, or visit our TV Guide
Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
