Hotly-anticipated ITV drama The Long Shadow airs on September 25, with the show chronicling the five-year manhunt for serial killer Peter Sutcliffe.
The show has not been without controversy, with the son of Sutcliffe’s first victim recently praising ITV for dropping ‘Yorkshire Ripper’ from the title after saying it traumatises victims’ families.
Sutcliffe was the monster who terrorised West Yorkshire until 1981, murdering 13 women over the course of five years before he was finally snared by police.
The series boasts a star-studded ensemble cast featuring the revered British actors David Morrisey, Toby Jones and Katherine Kelly to name a few.
The Long Shadow has been filmed around Yorkshire and features landmarks in Leeds, Wortley, Dewsbury and York, among other locations.
Evil killer: ITV drama The Long Shadow airs on September 25, with the show chronicling the five-year manhunt for serial killer Peter Sutcliffe (actor Mark Stobbart pictured in character)
One to watch: The series boasts a star-studded cast featuring the revered British actors David Morrisey, Toby Jones and Katherine Kelly (pictured, Jones and Michael McElhatton)
Where is The Long Shadow filmed?
The show was filmed entirely in the West Yorkshire region as this was where Peter Sutcliffe committed his grim acts.
According to The Yorkshire Post, filming took place in Wortley, an inner-city suburb of Leeds – to recreate the scenes at Roundhay Park – where Sutcliffe’s victim Marcella Claxton narrowly escaped death, aged 20, when coming home from a party.
Producers will also use this location to show how Peter bludgeoned Irene Richardson to death in the park.
The Yorkshire Post said crews were seen arriving at a property on Langford Lane in Burley-in-Wharfedale, near Ilkley, in July 2022 – with vans full of 1970s-themed props. They speculate that the suburban home may be used in the series.
Some filming took place at the Bulmer & Lumb, off Halifax Road, as a substitute for Millgarth Police Station in Leeds city centre, where Sutcliffe’s police investigation was conducted.
Wortley, Leeds: According to The Yorkshire Post, filming took place in this inner-city suburb
Bulmer & Lumb, off Halifax Road, Bradford: Filming took place here to recreate scenes of Sutcliffe’s police investigation at Millgarth Police Station in Leeds city centre
Bradford Council prohibited the new ITV drama from filming throughout parts of the city including streets and parks in order to not ‘perpetuate’ the memory of the Yorkshire Ripper.
Sutcliffe brutally murdered 13 women in a six-year killing spree in the 1970s – three of his victims, Patricia Atkinson, Yvonne Pearson and Barbara Leach were killed in Bradford.
Two other women were also attacked by the evil murderer in the city but survived – including Marcella Claxton who was walking home one night in May 1976.
Emails from the production company showed that senior Bradford councillors refused filming rights for the film.
One said: ‘We understand the subject remains hugely sensitive, even now, especially for those who remember and endured the fear that Sutcliffe’s crimes rained over Yorkshire.
Who are the cast of The Long Shadow?
Line Of Duty star Mark Stobbart takes on the role of The Yorkshire Ripper.
The actor , 37, was seen on set last year, with fans marvelling at his likeness to the murderer with his distinctive facial hair.
The Long Shadow also features Sherwood star David Morrissey as West Yorkshire Police’s Assistant Chief Constable George Oldfield, who led his force’s investigation into the ripper.
Line of Duty star Daniel Mays portrays Ms Jackson’s husband Sydney, whilst Toby Jones depicts another key police figure, Detective Chief Superintendent Dennis Hoban.
Strong resemblance: Line Of Duty star Mark Stobbart takes on the role of The Yorkshire Ripper
Why did The Long Shadow change its title?
Richard McCann, whose mother was murdered by Sutcliffe when he was just five, urged producers of the Long Shadow to omit ‘Yorkshire Ripper’ from the title.
He said the name only served to ‘traumatise’ families of victims because it signified the methods used by Sutcliffe to kill and injure them.
Screenwriter George Kay agreed to change the title following criticism from relatives of those killed by the murderer.
Mr McCann said he was ‘pleased’ the production team had withdrawn the phrase, saying the series showed the killer’s casualties as ‘human beings’ and ‘not just numbers’.
He said: ‘I urged them (ITV) not to use that word – it begins with R – in the title and I’m pleased they’ve listened.
‘The word serves to traumatise us families left behind because it’s a description of how our loved ones were maimed, how their injuries were inflicted.
Speaking about the production, he added: ‘It shows the women as women, human beings, and not just victims of Sutcliffe, not just numbers.
‘For example, it shows my mum as a mum, someone who loved her children.’
Mr McCann lost his mother Wilma McCann, 28, in October 1975 when she was violently murdered by Sutcliffe, who hit her with a hammer and stabbed her 15 times.
He refused to celebrate the murderer’s death on November 13 2020, but said that it offered ‘closure’.
Change: Richard McCann, whose mother was murdered by Sutcliffe when he was just five, urged producers of the Long Shadow to omit ‘Yorkshire Ripper’ from the title
The 13 murder victims of the Yorkshire Ripper
Wilma McCann
Wilma McCann
Age: 28
Killed on: October 30, 1975
A sex worker and mother of four, Sutcliffe battered Wilma McCann to death with a hammer and stabbed her in the neck, chest and stomach after picking her up in Leeds. He carried on life as normal with wife Sonia, and was to tell police: ‘After that first time I developed and played up a hatred for prostitutes in order to justify within myself a reason why I had attacked and killed Wilma McCann.’ Her body was found in Prince Phillip Playing Fields.
Emily Jackson
Emily Jackson
Age: 42
Killed on: January 20, 1976
A part-time sex worker, Sutcliffe pretended his car wouldn’t start when he picked her up and battered her twice with a hammer as she offered to help. He the dragged her body into a yard and used a screwdriver to viciously stab her a total of 52 times in the neck, breasts, lower abdomen and back. Her body was found on Manor Street in Leeds.
Irene Richardson
Irene Richardson
Age: 28
Killed on: February 5, 1977
Another prostitute Sutcliffe picked up, he attacked her in Roundhay Park, Leeds, where they had stopped so she could go to the toilet. As she crouched down, the killer delivered three heavy blows to her head with a hammer, then he tore open her jacket and blouse and began to stab and slash her with his Stanley knife.
Patricia Atkinson
Patricia Atkinson
Age: 32
Killed on: April 23, 1977
Sutcliffe’s first victim in his home town of Bradford was another prostitute. He picked her up and took her to a flat in Oak Avenue, where he picked up a hammer and dealt four massive blows to the back of her head. He also stabbed her six times in the stomach with a knife and tried to do the same to her back, before throwing bed linen over the top of her body and leaving.
Jayne MacDonald
Jayne MacDonald
Age: 16
Killed on: April 23, 1977
A shop assistant who had just left school, Jayne MacDonald was the first ‘non-prostitute’ victim and it was her death that saw the hunt for the killer draw national attention. Sutcliffe spotted her in the early hours of the morning in Leeds and followed her into an adventure playground, where he struck her with a hammer on the back of the head. After she fell down, he then dragged her, face down, into the play areas and stabbed her several times in the chest and back.
Jean Jordan
Jean Jordan
Age: 20
Killed on: October 1, 1977
A young prostitute, Jean Jordan was the Ripper’s first victim in Manchester. He beat her 11 times with a hammer in allotments next to Southern Cemetery, dumped her body and threw her bag, containing a brand new £5 note he gave her, into nearby shrubs. Police found the bag and traced the serial number on the note back to the payroll of Yorkshire hauliers T and W H Clark, who employed Peter Sutcliffe, but when questioned he provided an alibi that he was at a party.
Yvonne Pearson
Yvonne Pearson
Age: 21
Killed on: January 21, 1978
A young prostitute, Sutcliffe took her to a piece of waste ground at the back of Drummond’s mill in Bradford, where his father worked. There he hit her several times with a hammer. He pulled her body behind an old sofa, stuffed horsehair down her throat before kicking her in the head and jumping down on her chest.
Helen Rytka
Helen Rytka
Age: 18
Killed on: January 18, 1978
A teenage prostitute, Helen Rytka was picked up and driven to a timber yard in Great Northern Street, Huddersfield by the killer. There he beat her with a hammer several times but she remained alive until he grabbed a knife and stabbed her multiple times through the heart and lungs. Before leaving, he hid her body behind a stack of timber.
Vera Millward
Vera Millward
Age: 40
Killed on: May 16, 1978
A prostitute living in a run-down council flat in Hulme, Manchester, Vera Millward was Sutcliffe’s ninth victim. He took her Manchester Royal Infirmary where he attacked her with a hammer as soon as she got out the car. After killing her with the hammer blows, he then dragged her body to a spot by a fence and began to stab her with a knife.
Josephine Whitaker
Josephine Whitaker
Age: 19
Killed on: April 4, 1979
A teenage building society clerk, Josephine Whitaker was approached by Sutcliffe in Savile Park, Halifax where they got chatting. He hit her from behind with a hammer and again as she lay on the ground before dragging her into the darkness after hearing voices. He then stabbed her 21 times with a screwdriver in the chest and stomach as well as in the leg. Her skull had been fractured from ear to ear.
Barbara Leach
Barbara Leach
Age: 20
Killed on: September 20, 1979
Barbara Leach was a university student, about to start her third and final year in social psychology. He spotted her while driving in Bradford and opened the car door to get out as she was walking towards him. He attacked her with a hammer and dragged her into a back yard, before stabbing her with the same screwdriver that he had used on Josephine Whitaker. He then placed her body in a distorted jack-knife position behind a low wall into an area where dustbins were usually kept, covering her body with an old piece of carpet and some stones.
Marguerite Walls
Marguerite Walls
Age: 47
Killed on: August 20, 1980
A civil servant who worked at the Department of Education and Science office in Pudsey, Marguerite Walls was the Ripper’s twelfth victim. After spotting her in Leeds, he attacked her with a hammer blow, yelling ‘filthy prostitute’. He then looped rope around her neck and dragged her into a garden when he would strangle her and strip her of all her clothing except her tights. He partially covered the body with grass cuttings and leaves before making his escape.
Jacqueline Hill
Jacqueline Hill
Age: 20
Killed on: November 17, 1980
An English student at Leeds University, Jacqueline Hill had taken the bus home from a meeting with probation service workers where she had applied to become a volunteer. Sutcliffe spotted and followed her before delivering a blow to her head as she was passing an opening. Her body was discovered on a stretch of wasteland 100 yards from where she lived. She suffered four skull fractures and cuts to her head, a stab wound to her left breast and a stab wound to her right eye.
Where were his victims found? – in pictures
On October 30, 1975, the serial killer struck for the first time when he battered Wilma McCann, sex worker and mother of four to death with a hammer, before stabbing her. Her body was found here in Prince Phillip Playing Fields
Manor Street, Leeds: On January 20, 1976, Sutcliffe pretended his car wouldn’t start when he picked 42-year-old prostitute Emily Jackson up and battered her twice with a hammer as she offered to help. Her body was found here on Manor Street, Leeds
Roundhay Park, Leeds: On February 5, 1977, Sutcliffe picked up 28-year-old prostitute Irene Richardson. He attacked her here in Roundhay Park, Leeds, where they had stopped so she could go to the toilet. As she crouched down, the killer slashed her with his Stanley knife
Oak Avenue, Bradford: On April 23, 1977, Sutcliffe’s took his first victim in his home town of Bradford and she was another prostitute, Patricia Atkinson, aged 32. He picked her up and took her to a flat here then he stabbed her and bludgeoned with a hammer
Adventure Playground, Reginald Street, Leeds: On April 23, 1977, 16-year-old shop assistant Jayne MacDonald became Sutcliffe’s first ‘non-prostitute’ victim. Sutcliffe followed her into this playground, where he repeated his actions
Southern Cemetery, Manchester: Jean Jordan, 20, was Sutcliffe’s first Manchester-based victim. On October 1, 1977, the young prostitute was beaten here 11 times with a hammer in allotments next to the cemetery, before dumping her body and bag into nearby shrubs
Drummond’s Mill: On January 21, 1978, Sutcliffe attacked Yvonne Pearson, a 21-year-old prostitute with a hammer, after taking her to a piece of waste ground at the back of Drummond’s Mill, Bradford, where his father worked. She was found under a disused sofa on nearby Arthington Street
Great Northern Street, Huddersfield: On January 18, 1978, Sutcliffe attached Helen Rytka, an 18-year-old prostitute after picking her up and driving her to a timber yard on Great Northern Street where he attacked her in his usual way then hid her body behind a stack of timber
Manchester Royal Infirmary: On May 16, 1978, Suctliffe attacked Vera Millward, 40, a prostitute living in a run-down council flat in Hulme, Manchester. He took her to this hospital and attacked her with a hammer as soon as she got out the car
Savile Park, Huddersfield: On April 4, 1979, Sutcliffe attacked 19-year-old bank clerk Josephine Whitaker after approachinng her in this park and chatting to her. He hit her from behind with a hammer and stabbed her 21 times with a screwdriver
13 Ashgrove, Bradford: On September 20, 1979, 20-yea-old psychology student Barbara Leach was killed. He spotted her while driving and opened the car door to follow her. He attacked her with a hammer and dragged her into a back yard, then stabbed her. She was found on a back wall on this street
New Street, Farsley, Leeds: On August 20, 1980, 47-year-old civil servant Marguerite Walls was attacked with a hammer blow, yelling ‘filthy prostitute’. He dragged her into a garden of a house on New Street to strangle her. He covered the body with grass and leaves before leaving
Alma Road, Headingly, Leeds: On November 17, 1980, 20-year-old Leeds University student Jacqueline Hill took the bus home when Sutcliffe followed her before delivering a blow to her head as she was almost home. Her body was discovered in student area Headingly
