The Long Shadow star explains unique filming of harrowing episode 2 scene
The sequence involved a one-scene appearance from Doctor Who star Ruth Madeley.
*Warning - contains spoilers for The Long Shadow episode 2*
The second episode of The Long Shadow featured a uniquely staged dramatisation of one of Peter Sutcliffe's attacks, with the entire scene being shown from the perspective of an emergency call-handler speaking with the victim, Marcella Claxton, immediately after she had escaped.
The scene, which starred Doctor Who's Ruth Madeley as the call-handler, featured no visuals of the attack, nor did it feature Marcella's side of the call - we simply saw the call-handler's reaction, until she put down the phone, took a breath, and then received another call from someone in need.
Speaking with RadioTimes.com and other press, Jasmine Lee-Jones, who plays Marcella in the drama, explained why she felt this was a "really clever decision on [writer] George [Kay]'s part", saying that it "didn't sensationalise" the harrowing moment.
She continued: "It’s really interesting depicting trauma, because it didn't re-traumatise the story as it was. The thing that I find so heartbreaking, but also really moving, about that scene is that Ruth, the actress that played the police officer, she has to take a breath and then the phone rings again. It's that kind of thing that inspired me."
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Two episodes of the true crime drama, which charts the five-year police hunt for Sutcliffe, have now aired on ITV1, with five more still to air over the coming weeks.
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- The Long Shadow's Daniel Mays opens up on meeting real-life victim's son
- Jill Halfpenny on what shocked her most in research for The Long Shadow
The show was originally being produced under the working title The Yorkshire Ripper, but Kay explained that he and his team changed the name after they found out it was "disrespectful" to the victims.
He explained: "And we had a very respectful approach as a team throughout, but even at the beginning we hadn't learned, which we did over the time of making the show, that that moniker, that name that people use to describe Peter Sutcliffe, which obviously began before anyone knew his real name but then continued after people knew his real name, was disrespectful in many ways.
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"Especially to the victims' families, who certainly don't like that name being applied to Peter Sutcliffe, because it creates a sort of dark brand around a man who doesn't deserve that sort of attention, and especially not that verb."
The Long Shadow continues on ITV1 and ITVX on 9th October 2023. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
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