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Jill Halfpenny to star in Yorkshire Ripper drama The Long Shadow

Jill Halfpenny is to star in new serial killer drama The Long Shadow. credit:Bang Showbiz
Jill Halfpenny is to star in new serial killer drama The Long Shadow. credit:Bang Showbiz

Jill Halfpenny is to star in a gritty new serial killer drama about the Yorkshire Ripper.

The former 'EastEnders' and 'Coronation Street' star has signed up to appear in 'The Long Shadow' - a new ITV series about Peter Sutcliffe, who was convicted of killing 13 women and attempting to murder seven others between 1975 and 1980.

Jill will play Doreen Hill, the mother of murdered student Jacqueline Hill, who was killed by Sutcliffe in Leeds, England in November 1980. She was the killer's final murder victim before his arrest in 1981.

The six-part series will focus on Doreen's story and her battle to uncover what went wrong in the police investigation.

'The Long Shadow' also stars another former 'Corrie' castmember, Katherine Kelly - who plays the Ripper's second murder victim Emily Jackson, who was killed in January 1976 after being picked up by Sutcliffe outside a pub in the city.

The show also features David Morrissey, Toby Jones, Stephen Tompkinson and Lee Ingleby and has been written by George Kay, the brains behind Netflix's hit series 'Criminal'.

Director Paul Whittington said of the series: "By placing the victims, their families and the survivors at the heart of this story, George has crafted an excavation of British social history that goes far beyond the infamy.

"His writing sensitively reveals and humanises the untold number of lives devastated by these crimes, and powerfully exposes the enduring legacy of the failings of the biggest manhunt in British criminal history. This is a vital story about class prejudice, pervasive and entrenched societal sexism and women simply not being heard that still has relevance today."