The Long Shadow praised by murder victim's son: "We don't often see that"

The Long Shadow chronicles the five-year hunt for serial killer Peter Sutcliffe by "sensitively focusing on the lives of the victims who crossed his path and those of the officers at the heart of the police investigation", according to the synopsis.

Well, speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com about the new ITV series and how it centres on his mother and Sutcliffe's first murder victim Wilma McCann, Richard McCann said that the new series "humanises" the victims.

McCann, who is currently promoting his upcoming panel on true crime for Leeds International Festival, said: "I think what tends to happen is we tend to see or spend a lot of time seeing the perpetrator of the crimes.

"What ITV have done, and I've seen the whole thing, seven parts, what they have done, I think really well, is told the story through the lens of the victims, the families, and we don't often see that. So, what this particular drama does is it humanises them.

"For me, when I watched that, I just found it extremely moving. Because in Peter Sutcliffe’s case, many of the women, including mum, they weren't seen as mothers or sisters or daughters. And what we saw was, in my mum's case, a black and white picture - she was labelled as a prostitute, that was it."

Richard McCann said that, upon being approached by ITV about the series, he thought: "What positives can we take from this? Well, one, we could ensure that the women are seen as human beings rather than just statistics, numbers. It was very obvious, right from the start, that that's how they were approaching this, in speaking to me."

In a bid to re-centre the story away from Sutcliffe and towards honouring the victims, McCann said that he tried to "influence the title that they used for this thing. And that's why they called it The Long Shadow, rather than anything to do with the moniker", referring to the commonly used term of 'The Yorkshire Ripper'.

While the decision to adjust the working title away from Sutcliffe was one that was done due to many of the families' involvement, McCann said that he thinks the new title is a "very appropriate" one, saying: "It would be fair to say the impact and effect of what took place all those years ago is still being felt, not just for the families involved, but I was speaking to somebody this weekend who, it’s affected how she walks late at night, she remembers those times.

"The public in the north of England who were around at that time, are still... not affected in the same way that maybe I am, bit are still remembering that long shadow that was cast all those years ago."

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McCann also shared that the part of the drama that he respects the most is the way it has managed to capture the thinking and media representation of the victims, including his mother (who is played in the drama by Gemma Laurie).

He said: "What I really like about that drama is it really shows the misogyny, the language that was used around those times, that the public had a certain perception of some of the women that died, and what this does, it kind of addresses that.

"I'm not pointing the finger at West Yorkshire Police, but they made some big mistakes. Not just in the investigation, but the words they used to describe some of the women. Suggesting that some of them brought it on themselves. 'Women of loose morals'.

"When Jayne MacDonald was killed, it was said that 'he's made a big mistake this time'. So, misogyny is still happening in the world, maybe not to that degree. So I think what this does is, it brings it back to the table to be discussed and thought about, because there's still some way to go."

The series continues on ITV1 and ITVX weekly every Monday and will consist of seven episodes, which will bring a "new perspective to a well-documented story", as per the synopsis.

The Long Shadow continues on ITV1 and ITVX on Monday 2nd 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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