“I always had that in the back of my mind when we were shooting.”
Steeltown Murders star Philip Glenister has discussed the key detail he learned after meeting with DCI Paul Bethell, the police detective he portrays in the new BBC One factual drama.
The four-part series unravels the true case that rocked the South Wales communities of Port Talbot and Neath, when three young woman were raped and murdered by the same culprit in the 1970s.
At the time, police could not identify the perpetrator, but advances in DNA technology decades later gave them the opportunity to finally find justice for the victim’s families.
Speaking about the project to RadioTimes.com and other press, Glenister said: “Having met Paul and talked to him in quite some detail… he never wanted to use the word ‘closure’, which I thought was really, really interesting.
“And that was sort of a recurring theme in my head during filming, because he said when you’ve lost – particularly a child or a son or daughter – in such a horrible, horrible way, you can never have closure.”
Other detectives involved in catching the killer were Phil Bach Rees and Geraint Bale, who are played by Steffan Rhodri (Gavin & Stacey) and Gareth John Bale (Roald & Beatrix) in Steeltown Murders.
Glenister continued: “But it was just some form of redemption, I think, for the families, and indeed for Phil Bach and for Paul. Just to have some sort of conclusion up to a point, but certainly not closure.
“And I always had that in the back of my mind when we were shooting, especially the scenes where we speak to the families.”
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Previously, Glenister said that the trauma that the victims’ loved ones were forced to endure was “unimaginable”, with their perspective being a major consideration while developing the series.
Producer Hannah Thomas added: “We were very aware of the reality of what had happened and what they’ve gone through. So that basically was something really balanced at every stage… that drive to tell a really compelling story, whilst being really mindful of people’s grief and that it’s actually happened.”
Steeltown Murders premieres on BBC One at 9pm on Monday 15th May 2023. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on.
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