Four Lives boss explains why true-crime drama was delayed
Four Lives will air tonight on BBC One.
New BBC drama, Four Lives, tells the true story of killer Stephen Port and the men he brutally murdered.
Sheridan Smith stars as the mother of one of Port's victims, as her fight for justice for the men whose lives he cruelly took plays out on screen.
The drama, initially called The Barking Murders, went into production in 2019, but was subject to delays, which executive producer Neil McKay has recently spoken about.
Speaking to press including RadioTimes.com, McKay explained the real case behind the drama was subject to a jury inquest.
“We’d shot it quite some time ago but we weren't able to transmit it because the inquest was a jury inquest," he said. "If it had been a non-jury inquest, we would have been able to transmit it. But being a jury inquest, it could have been argued that we might influence the jury, you know, a powerful, emotional drama like this, so we were fully braced and aware as to whether we might need to do some re-editing, some adjustments and all that kind of thing."
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McKay continued to explain how he poured over the transcripts of the inquest every evening, covering every detail. By the end of it, the team behind Four Lives found they didn't need to change any part of their drama.
He added: "We kept a close eye on the inquest but in the end, the version we have, the inquest conclusions gave us our closing captions. We followed the inquest, but it didn't in any significant way alter our account of events."
Read more: Four Lives boss shares response of victims’ families to true-crime drama
Four Lives will premiere on Monday 3rd January at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
Authors
Helen Daly is the Associate Editor for Radio Times, overseeing new initiatives and commercial projects for the brand. She was previously Deputy TV Editor at a national publication. She has a BA in English Literature and an MA in Media & Journalism from Newcastle University.
