The show includes very few scenes of Sutcliffe himself, and instead focuses its attention on the stories of his victims<\/a> \u2013 and also the police officers who worked to bring him to justice.<\/p>\n One of these detectives is DCS Dennis Hoban, who is portrayed in the series by Detectorists<\/a> star Toby Jones. But who was Hoban and what happened to him?<\/p>\n Read on for everything you need to know about the real Dennis Hoban.<\/p>\n *Warning \u2013 this article contains spoilers for events dramatised in later episodes of The Long Shadow*<\/strong><\/p>\n Dennis Hoban was a police officer from Leeds<\/a>, who became known as one of the first members of the police force to take the case seriously and link Sutcliffe\u2019s murders.<\/p>\n He had left school at 14 without any qualifications, later rising through the ranks of the West Yorkshire Police to become the head of Leeds CID.<\/p>\n He was known to have a good relationship with the media, with local Yorkshire journalists donating a trophy in his memory after his death, which was awarded each year for outstanding detective work.<\/p>\n As Detective Chief Superintendent, he was the first to lead the investigation into the murders, although he was later replaced by DCS Jim Hobson.<\/p>\n He died in March 1978 at the age of 52, due to complications from his diabetes. This was three years before Sutcliffe was eventually caught.<\/p>\n Dennis\u2019s son Richard previously told the Yorkshire Evening Post<\/a> of his father: \u201cAlthough he loved his family, he couldn\u2019t bear not to be at the centre of things. For years, my brother and I thought there had to be a murder on Christmas Day.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we were older, we realised he\u2019d probably asked one of his colleagues to ring him on the pretext \u2028of a serious case so he could escape from the house and get back to Brotherton House, the headquarters \u2028of Leeds City Police.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Jane Carter Woodrow, a criminologist and writer who included Hoban as a central character in her book Between Two Worlds, also spoke highly of the detective.<\/p>\n She said: \u201cHe was full of humanity and he cared about his victims, When he locked up criminals in Armley and he knew they had families, he would take them money or a bag of groceries. And at Christmas, he would take his sons around with some of their own toys for the children.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div> Hoban is played by in the show<\/a> by Toby Jones, who is\u00a0known for playing Arnim Zola in the\u00a0MCU<\/a>, as well as for his roles in\u00a0The Hunger Games<\/a>, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny<\/a>\u00a0and the Harry Potter<\/a>\u00a0films.<\/p>\n Richard Hoban was full of praise for Jones\u2019s performance as his dad, saying: \u201cIt was almost like I was watching my dad at some points. It is kind of surreal.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a magnificent performance. The characterisation of my dad is absolutely superb. He\u2019s captured my dad\u2019s assertiveness, incredible observation skills and analytical mind.<\/p>\n \u201cHe also had so much empathy for victims, which comes across. My dad would always be checking in on people to make sure they were alright, and if he found out people didn\u2019t have food on the table, he would help with finances.<\/p>\n \u201cHe would never get angry. When I did something wrong as a child, my dad would still speak gently.\u201d<\/p> Who was Dennis Hoban and what happened to him?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Toby](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/09\/thelongshadowepisode231-cbe3d4b.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"the_long_shadow_episode_2_31\\"\/")
\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>Who plays Dennis Hoban in The Long Shadow?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Toby](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2023\/09\/thelongshadowepisode217-d7484d1.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413\" "\\"the_long_shadow_episode_2_17\\"\/")
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