Peter Sutcliffe: Bradford council won't back series 'out of respect'

Sutcliffe suffered from numerous long-term health problems and died in hospital in November 2020

Council leaders in serial killer Peter Sutcliffe's home town have refused to give a TV drama about his murders their backing out of respect to his victims.

ITV's The Long Shadow is being filmed around streets and parks in Bradford, as well as locations in nearby Leeds.

Bradford council said it could not support the project "out of respect for the many people affected".

Sutcliffe, who died in 2020, killed 13 women from 1975-1980, which the council said was "a very dark and painful era".

A former lorry driver from Bradford, he committed his crimes around Yorkshire and north-east England. Most of his victims were women working as prostitutes.

He was found guilty of the murders in 1981, along with the attempted murder of seven other women.

He spent three decades at Broadmoor Hospital before being moved to HMP Frankland in County Durham in 2016.

Sutcliffe died in hospital where he is said to have refused treatment for Covid-19. He also had other health problems.

Sutcliffe's victims

Twelve of the 13 women Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering: Emily Jackson, Irene Richardson, Patricia Atkinson, Jayne McDonald, Jean Jordan, Yvonne Pearson, Helen Rytka, Vera Millward, Josephine Whittaker, Barbara Leach, Marguerite Walls, Jacqueline Hill (Wilma McCann pictured below)

• Wilma McCann, 28, Leeds, October 1975

• Emily Jackson, 42, Leeds, January 1976

• Irene Richardson, 28, Leeds, February 1977

• Patricia Atkinson, 32, Bradford, April 1977

• Jayne McDonald, 16, Leeds, June 1977

• Jean Jordan, 21, Manchester, October 1977

• Yvonne Pearson, 22, Bradford, January 1978

• Helen Rytka, 18, Huddersfield, January 1978

• Vera Millward, 41, Manchester, May 1978

• Josephine Whittaker, 19, Halifax, May 1979

• Barbara Leach, 20, Bradford, September 1979

• Marguerite Walls, 47, Leeds, August 1980

• Jacqueline Hill, 20, Leeds, November 1980

The Long Shadow is a six-part drama about Sutcliffe - known then as The Yorkshire Ripper - and his crimes, as well as the police hunt to find him.

It is being produced for ITV by New Pictures. Both have been approached for comment.

The series has been written by screenwriter George Kay, based on Michael Bilton's book, Wicked Beyond Belief: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper.

ITV said the script would focus on the lives of Sutcliffe's victims, the loved ones they left behind, and the toll the investigation took on the detectives who led the investigation.

Line of Duty actor Mark Stobbart plays the role of Sutcliffe, and Katherine Kelly, who has previously starred in Coronation Street and Gentleman Jack, plays Sutcliffe's second victim Emily Jackson.

A Bradford council spokesman said: "The story of this very dark and painful era has been told many times, including within well-researched documentaries which have given survivors and victims' families a voice.

"We cannot ban filming in public spaces and have not tried to do so but we can choose whether to actively support this film or not.

"Out of respect for the many people affected, we have chosen not to support this film."