Photo credit: www.bbc.co.uk
Lockdown no.3 has become slightly easier as ITV has finally released the series of the infamous Pembrokeshire Murders. The three-part drama started last night, which covers the re-investigation of the double murders of Richard & Helen Thomas and Peter & Gewnda Dixon in the 1980s. The murders took place by killer John Cooper, who once appeared on Bullseye TV quiz show in 1989.
This drama is based on the book, Catching the Bullseye Killer, which was written by Senior Investigating Officer Steve Wilkins (played by Luke Evans) and ITV’s Jonathan Hill. The serial killer, John Cooper, is played by Twin Town and Eddie the Eagle actor Keith Allen.
Photo credit: WalesOnline
The first episode introduced us to the main characters of the plot. DS Wilkins (Luke Evans) has arrived back in Wales and gained a new job as deputy head of CID for Dyfed-Powys Police. It’s illustrated through a telephone call that his former marriage has ended and he has a some-what strained relationship with his son Jack (Steffan Cennyd) and daughter Amy (Mabli Jen Eustace). He now must balance building back a relationship with his children and fulfilling his responsibilities at Dyfed-Powys Police.
Whilst looking over old case files, he decides to reopen the two unsolved double-murders of Richard & Helen Thomas and Peter & Gewnda Dixon in 1985 and 1989. The suspect, John Cooper, (Keith Allen) is already in prison serving a sentence for previous crimes. DS Wilkins suggests to the board that with the advances in DNA-gathering, they can now try to get concrete evidence to convict him of these murders and hopefully evidence for the attack on a group of teenagers. Thus, ‘Operation Ottawa’ has begun.
Whilst watching the thrilling drama, you may be thinking, where’s the social distancing? Filming took place in Wales ahead of lockdown, with scenes highlighting the beautiful Pembrokeshire coastal path in Goodwick and Fishguard. Luckily, filming was completed just before Wales went into lockdown in March 2020.
The ITV dram will continue at 9pm on January 12th and 13th.
Look out for our overall review, coming soon!
To catch up on the latest episode, click here.
