Apparently, the BBC is planning a TV show about the brutal murders by convicted serial killer Stephen Port.
Filming for a documentary drama, called The Barking Murders surrounding the killer Stephen Port, who brutally raped and murdered four men between June 2014 and September 2015 is due to begin in the spring. Dubbed in the press as the Grindr Killer, Port used dating apps and websites to lure his victims. In 2016 the 41-year-old was also found guilty of 10 offences of administering a substance with intent, four rapes and four sexual assaults.
According to the BBC, the award-winning team behind The Moorside and Appropriate Adult, the new factual drama will go beneath the headlines to shed new light on this story by telling it from the point of view of the families of Stephen Port’s victims, focusing on their fight to uncover the truth about what had happened to their lost sons and brothers in the face of a now widely-criticised police investigation.
Port was found guilty of the murders of Anthony Patrick Walgate, 23, Gabriel Kovari, 22, Daniel Whitworth, 21 and Jack Taylor, 25. Their bodies were dumped in or near a graveyard in Barking. The graveyard was 500 meters away from his flat in east London.
The new film has Stephen Merchant in the role of Port.
“This story can’t be ignored”
On joining the cast, Stephen Merchant said, “This is a story that can’t be ignored – how four young lives were lost and their families’ brave attempt to uncover what happened. This factual drama will shed light on their story, so it’s a privilege to be a part of telling it with the brilliant combination of Jeff Pope, Neil McKay and the BBC.”
He’ll be joined by Sheridan Smith who added, “‘I love playing real-life characters – especially an inspirational woman like Sarah Sak (the mother of Anthony Walgate) – but with it comes responsibility. Along with the other families, Sarah went through so much heartache and it would have been easy for her to just accept what she was being told by the police, but something inside made her keep fighting for her son.”
