Fighting for justice
STV, 9pm THE parents of Stephen Lawrence faced such a long wait for justice that this is the second ITV drama based on the botched investigation into their son’s murder.
In 1993, 18-year-old Stephen was killed by racists in an unprovoked attack at a bus stop. Six years later, The Murder of Stephen Lawrence dramatised his family’s exasperation and distress as the case against his killers fell apart.
Now, this new three-part series – in which Holby City’s Hugh Quarshie reprises his role as Stephen’s dad Neville – picks up the story in 2006 as the Met reviews the case after an enquiry previously found the police service to be institutionally racist.
Steve Coogan plays DCI Clive Driscoll, the detective who volunteers to take another look at the files, much to his colleagues’ surprise. Most of them don’t want to touch the investigation with a bargepole but Driscoll is outraged by the nightmare Stephen’s family has endured.
What’s more, he’s certain that “common sense coppering” can get some results.
In his words: “We’re more than a match for a gang of racist thugs.”
This isn’t a whodunit because the perpetrators are known to everyone involved – the problem is gathering sufficient evidence to secure a conviction.
Determined to leave no stone unturned, Driscoll employs the services of a private forensics lab, asking them to run tests that might seem pointless just in case evidence can be revealed.
His greatest challenge is to convince Neville and Stephen’s mum Doreen (Sharlene Whyte) that he will finally be the detective they can trust to put their son’s killers behind bars.