I think it would be useful to have a thread for each part of this production so that those with extensive knowledge of the case can apply some critical analysis. This drama series is being protrayed as a true story so it will be interesting to see how much of it reflects the actual evidence. Enjoy!
Article
The six-part drama series White House Farm starts on Wednesday 8th January at 9pm on ITV.
On the night of 6th August 1985, five people were gunned down and killed at White House Farm. The victims were all related, including parents Nevill and June Bamber, their adopted daughter Sheila Caffell and her two sons, Daniel and Nicholas.
Police initially believed that Sheila, who suffered from schizophrenia, had committed the murders before killing herself. However, weeks later, her adoptive brother Jeremy Bamber was arrested in connection with the crime and was convicted of the murders in October 1986.
The jury found that Bamber staged the scene to implicate Sheila and receive a large inheritance. He was given a life sentence with no possibility of parole, but he maintains his innocence to this day and his lawyers have made repeated attempts to have the case reviewed.
ITV’s dramatisation of the story is written by Kris Mrksa (The Slap) and Giula Sandler, with cooperation from Colin Caffell, whose wife (Sheila) and twin sons were murdered.
Mrksa said: "This is an incredibly compelling true crime story, but it's the human dimension of these events that gripped my imagination, particularly after reading Colin Caffell’s book. So much discussion of the case has focused on contested legal details, but I wanted to tell this story in a way that did justice to the devastating emotional truth of what happened.”
ITV Head of Drama Polly Hill, who commissioned the series, said: “White House Farm is a fascinating insight into what happened on that fateful night in August 1985 and the subsequent search for the truth during the police investigation.”
She continued: “Kris Mrksa’s scripts are captivating and perfectly enhanced by the brilliance of Paul Whittington’s direction. I’d like to thank them and the brilliant cast, along with [Executive Producer] Willow Grylls and New Pictures, for making a truly outstanding drama that we are delighted to have on ITV.”
