Writer Ed Whitmore Introduces BBC’s Steeltown Murders

Closing A Cold Case

Steeltown Murders is a new BBC drama coming this Monday and here’s its writer Ed Whitmore introducing the series…

Steeltown Murders is a four-part drama series based on the real life Llandarcy murders. Set in Port Talbot, South Wales, the story charts the devastating impact of three unsolved murders on a close-knit community over a thirty-year period. As the drama unfolds, we follow two vividly different timelines – a heady, bawdy 1973 when the murders occur – and a sobered-up 2002 when DNA yields the tantalising possibility the killer might finally be brought to justice.

The project was brought to me by director Marc Evans who I was lucky enough to collaborate with on two seasons of the BAFTA Award-winning Manhunt. Once I’d read up on the Llandarcy Murders, Marc and I began discussing the material in earnest with producers Hannah Thomas and Ed Talfan. Almost immediately, I could see that as a piece of true crime drama this would be a challenging evolution from Manhunt in terms of theme, scope and emphasis. Because ultimately the focus would be less on the murders themselves and more on their tragic aftermath – the bereaved families stoically toiling on without justice; the suspects whose lives and marriages have been blighted by suspicion; the detectives tasked with catching the killer serving out their careers in the shadow of failure.

To a dramatist, the chance to sensitively and respectfully chart the interweaving lives of these characters was a gift. And just as the narrative balances two timeframes, I was struck and compelled by the almost in-built thematic equilibrium at the heart of the piece. Yes, it’s indelibly a story of loss, regret, monstrous evil and the cruelty of fate – but it’s also a paean to courage, fortitude, scientific progress and the redemptive power of love and family.