THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT
Watch the series on BBC iPlayer, here.
“as immaculate a piece of TV as you will ever see”
“Anyone who saw Channel 4’s brilliant 2020 documentary Catching a Killer: A Diary from the Grave will know that the story of the slow, sadistic murder of gentle academic Peter Farquhar by Ben Field almost beggars belief. How could anyone be so assiduously evil? It was so remarkable I doubted a TV drama could add much to a true crime that seemed as far-fetched as a Midsomer Murders plot. But I reckoned without Timothy Spall.”
“This is a series about death, and yet every moment speaks of life, of how people long to live it to the full: a repletion that involves love, on which some of us will not ever give up.”
MY ROLE: SCRIPT CONSULTANT
Congratulations to the team behind The Sixth Commandment for their two wins at the 2024 BAFTA TV awards – Best Limited Drama and Best Leading Actor for Timothy Spall’s mesmerising portrayal of Peter Farquhar.
I had a small role as Script Consultant. The drama grew from the documentary (released 2020) directed by myself and Jezza Neumann and executive produced by Brian Woods, who also executive produced the drama.
The Sixth Commandment is a harrowing tale – a tale I know well through the making of the documentary – but ultimately it’s a story about the human condition; a story about love. Beautifully and sensitively acted and scripted by Sarah Phelps, it stands as a fitting tribute to Peter Farquhar and Ann Moore-Martin.
Kind of Sixth Commandment actor Ben Bailey Smith to give our documentary a plug while promoting the drama series!