''Rillington Place'' is a three-part biographical crime drama about the real life case of

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

John Christie, and the subsequent wrongful execution of

Timothy Evans Timothy John Evans (20 November 1924 – 9 March 1950) was a Welshman who was wrongly accused of murdering his wife (Beryl) and infant daughter (Geraldine) at their residence in Notting Hill, London. In January 1950, Evans was tried, and was c ...

. It premiered on 29 November 2016 on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

Premise

The miniseries revolves around the home life of John Christie and his wife, Ethel, as he commits a string of murders during the 1940s and early 1950s. Each of the three episodes tells the story as seen from the respective point of view of the three main characters: Ethel, Timothy Evans and John Christie.

Cast

Tim Roth Timothy Simon Roth (born 14 May 1961) is an English actor and producer. He began acting on films and television series in the 1980s. He was among a group of prominent British actors of the era, the " Brit Pack". He made his television debut ...

as John Christie *

Samantha Morton Samantha Jane Morton (born 13 May 1977) is an English actress and director. Known for her work in independent cinema, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for two ...

as Ethel Christie *

Nico Mirallegro ' Nico Cristian Mirallegro ( ; born 26 January 1991) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Barry "Newt" Newton in the soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' (2007–2010), Finn Nelson in ''My Mad Fat Diary'' (2013–2015), Joe Middleton in ...

as Timothy Evans *

Jodie Comer Jodie Marie Comer ( ; born 11 March 1993) is an English actress who rose to global prominence for her role as Oksana Astankova / Villanelle in the BBC America spy thriller '' Killing Eve'' (2018–2022). She has received various accolades in ...

as Beryl Evans

Broadcast and reception

On 29 November 2016, the first episode premiered on BBC One, to largely positive reviews from critics, who applauded the performances and the storytelling. However, it also attracted mixed reactions from some viewers who complained about the "mumbling" and the "inaudible dialogue" of the actors. Following the second episode on 6 December, Sarah Doran of ''

RadioTimes.com ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'' noted that several viewers had been confused by Mirallegro's use of two different accents while portraying Evans, as the actor switched between

Cockney Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or ...

and Welsh accents. However, writers Ed Whitmore and Tracey Malon told the website this had been deliberate, since it was a trait adopted by Evans himself in an attempt to fit into his surroundings: "Tim moved to London from Wales around the age of eleven, his half-sister told us he was very keen to fit in and soon adopted a London 'barrow-boy' accent, but that he could slip back into his childhood accent when around members of his Welsh family. Nico irallegrowanted to reflect Tim's malleability and that desire to fit in by using different accents according to who he was talking to." Internationally, the series premiered on

BBC First BBC First is an entertainment subscription television channel featuring comedy, crime, drama and film programming, originating from UK and mostly from the BBC. The channel is wholly owned and operated by BBC Studios. The channel began rolling ou ...

on 8 February 2017.

Production

As Rillington Place no longer exists, it was demolished in the early 1970s the interiors of 10 Rillington Place were recreated at BBC Scotland’s

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

Studios near Glasgow, whilst the exteriors of the street were shot on a set created in a parking lot at the same studio. Other locations across Scotland were used to represent London. The

Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway The Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway is a heritage railway in Bo'ness, Scotland. It is operated by the Scottish Railway Preservation Society (SRPS), and operates a total of over of track (between Bo'ness and Manuel Junction, via Kinneil and Birkh ...

for the railway station and train, New Street in Paisley, West Princes Street and West Street in Glasgow, representing the link between Rillington Place and the rest of

Ladbroke Grove Ladbroke Grove () is an area and a road in West London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, passing through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue. It is also a name given ...

in London. Also the Western Baths Club. The Ballantine Castings Factory in

Bo'ness Borrowstounness (commonly known as Bo'ness ( )) is a town and former burgh and seaport on the south bank of the Firth of Forth in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Historically part of the county of West Lothian, it is a place within the Fal ...

was used for the bombed-out section of the factory at the end of Rillington Place.

References

External links

* * {{Use British English, date=September 2020 2016 British television series debuts 2016 British television series endings 2010s British drama television series BBC high definition shows BBC television dramas Television series by Endemol 2010s British crime television series 2010s British television miniseries English-language television shows Television series set in the 1940s Television series set in the 1950s Television shows set in London Television shows set in Wales Serial killers in television