Stephen Merchant transforms into Grindr serial killer Stephen Port for sinister TV drama
The first pictures from the set of The Barking Murders have been released
STEPHEN Merchant transforms into Grindr serial killer Stephen Port in the first pictures taken on the set of upcoming BBC drama The Barking Murders.
The new images show Merchant as Port dressed in a white T-shirt with a print of vintage comic book character The Angry Spider, a grey hoodie, dark jacket and jeans.
Extras actor Stephen Merchant will star alongside Cleaning Up actress Sheridan Smith, who is set to play Sarah Sak, the mother of Port’s first murder victim Anthony Walgate.
Speaking ahead of filming, 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."
Port attacked four men during 2014 and 2015, using dating app Grindr to lure his victims to their deaths.
During that time, he gave Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor date-rape drug GHB, before raping and murdering them.
He was sentenced to life in prison in November 2016.
Directed by David Blair, the drama will look at the look at the Port murders between 2014 and 2015 at his flat in Barking.
In 2017, a BBC documentary called How Police Missed The Grindr Killer looked at how Barking and Dagenham Police failed to link the four killings, instead assuming that the men had died from self-inflicted drugs overdoses,.
The force was heavily criticised by the victims’ families.
The film is being produced by Neil McKay and Jeff Pope, who previously worked together on BBC One drama The Moorside, which detailed the impact the disappearance of Shannon Matthews had on the local community in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.
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“Four young men with their entire future ahead of them lost their lives in a brutal and tragic way,” said McKay.
“This is a story not only of the consequences of that loss but also of the extraordinary courage and resilience shown by those who loved them as they sought truth and justice. It is a privilege to be able to tell it.”
Filming for The Barking Murders is continuing, with an airing date yet to be announced.
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