{"id":36773,"date":"2023-09-11T16:38:59","date_gmt":"2023-09-11T14:38:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1887416"},"modified":"2023-09-12T06:42:11","modified_gmt":"2023-09-12T04:42:11","slug":"the-long-shadow-creator-explains-why-show-changed-disrespectful-title","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/the-long-shadow-creator-explains-why-show-changed-disrespectful-title\/","title":{"rendered":"The Long Shadow creator explains why show changed \u201cdisrespectful\u201d title"},"content":{"rendered":"

George Kay opened up on the title change at a recent Q&A for the ITV drama. <\/p>

By James Hibbs\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 11 September 2023 at 14:36 PM<\/p>

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Upcoming ITV series The Long Shadow<\/a> dramatises the five-year hunt for serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, who was convicted of murdering 13 women and attempting to murder seven others, and was dubbed by press reports at the time as The Yorkshire Ripper.<\/p>\n

The show was originally to be titled The Yorkshire Ripper in reference to this fact, but in a recent Q&A for the show, writer George Kay explained the crucial reason that the change was made.<\/p>\n

He explained: \u201cWell, we started by calling it The Yorkshire Ripper when we announced it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we had a very respectful approach as a team throughout, but even at the beginning we hadn\u2019t learned, which we did over the time of making the show, that that moniker, that name that people use to describe Peter Sutcliffe, which obviously began before anyone knew his real name but then continued after people knew his real name, was disrespectful in many ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially to the victims\u2019 families, who certainly don\u2019t like that name being applied to Peter Sutcliffe, because it creates a sort of dark brand around a man who doesn\u2019t deserve that sort of attention, and especially not that verb.\u201d<\/p>\n