Timothy Spall and Anne Reid in first look at The Sixth Commandment
Spall plays teacher Peter Farquhar in the upcoming true crime drama from Sarah Phelps.
The BBC has unveiled a series of first-look images showing Timothy Spall and Anne Reid in character for the upcoming true crime drama The Sixth Commandment.
Penned by A Very British Scandal writer Sarah Phelps, the four-part series explores the deaths of Peter Farquhar (Spall) and Ann Moore-Martin (Reid) in the village of Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire in 2015 and has been made in full cooperation with the victim's families.
The cast for the series also includes Éanna Hardwicke as convicted murderer Ben Field, Annabel Scholey as Ann’s niece Ann-Marie Blake, Sheila Hancock as Liz Zettl, and Ben Bailey Smith as Simon Blake – with each of them also featuring in the new set of images.
According to the show's official synopsis, The Sixth Commandment "tells the story of how the meeting of an inspirational teacher, Peter Farquhar, and a charismatic student, Ben Field, set the stage for one of the most complex and confounding criminal cases in recent memory".
Meanwhile, the drama will also focus on how "suspicions around Field’s relationship with Ann Moore-Martin, Peter’s deeply religious neighbour, unlocked a series of chilling revelations".
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The description continues: "The Sixth Commandment explores the way in which both Peter and Ann were manipulated by Field, capturing the extreme gaslighting, the gripping police investigation and the high-profile trial, while poignantly highlighting the devastating effect of isolation and loneliness as Field closed in on them."
When the series was first announced in June 2022, Phelps said: "I wouldn’t have been able to write this without the help, support and insights of Peter and Ann’s families.
"I’m so appreciative of the trust they placed in me to tell the stories of their loved ones. I’m thrilled that we have such an astonishing cast and phenomenal team of creatives, led by our director Saul Dibb, to bring my scripts to life."
Meanwhile, Spall said that he knew "this was an essential story to tell" as soon as he read Phelps' "brilliant" scripts.
"I am honoured to be playing the remarkable Peter Farquhar and hope I do him justice, which is the very least he deserves.”
A documentary about the case, Catching a Killer: A Diary from the Grave, previously aired on Channel 4 in January 2020 and will be repeated on Tuesday 13th June 2023 at 10pm.
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