Yahoo News BBC developing crime drama about notorious British serial killer
The BBC is reportedly developing a new crime drama about one of Britain’s most infamous serial killers, Bible John.
Deadline has reported that the channel is in the early stages of developing the show which is yet to get a title – although the BBC declined to comment on this report.
Bible John is thought to have murdered three young women, between 1968 and 1969 in Scotland – Patricia Docker, Jemima MacDonald and Helen Puttock.
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He was nicknamed Bible John after Puttock's sister Jeannie described a man they had met in a club on the night she was murdered, who quoted from the Bible. She said he had introduced himself as John and asked Puttock to dance.
The Guardian reported that while the initial investigation was one of the largest inquiries in Scottish history, with police interviewing 7,000 people, taking 4,000 statements and distributing photofits of who they believed to be the suspected killer, no arrests were ever made for the murders.
While several suspects have been linked to the case over the years, the serial killer has never been found.
The BBC has previously covered this case in different formats, including a two-part documentary from BBC Scotland, The Hunt for Bible John.
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The BBC Sounds podcast, Bible John: Creation of a Serial Killer, also launched in 2022 and prompted police to re-examine the unsolved murders, so it's expected the new drama would build on this important work.
Behind the new show is Buccaneer Media, who have produced streaming hits such as ITVX’s Irvine Welsh adaptation Crime, and Paramount+ drama The Burning Girls.
The Pembrokeshire Murders writer Nick Stevens was believed to be involved, but Deadline understands that he is no longer involved.
This news is on the back of a spate of successful UK dramas based on true crime. Some of 2023’s most successful shows include BBC’s The Sixth Commandment, about the murders of Peter Farquhar and Ann Moore-Martin, and ITV’s The Long Shadow, based on the hunt for serial killer Peter Sutcliffe.
The Hunt for Bible John and The Sixth Commandment are on BBC iPlayer. The Long Shadow is on ITVX.
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