TV VIEWERS: ‘THAT’S NOT NEWPORT!’
EAGLE-EYED viewers called out Netflix this week for using a north Walian town to depict Newport. An aerial shot of Denbigh was used for the portrayal of Newport in the crime documentary My Lover My Killer.
But viewers were not fooled with the shots which clearly showed the skyline of Denbigh, with Colomendy Industrial Estate, Denbigh Quarry and the Clwydian hills visible in the background, NorthWalesLive reports.
Currently trending on Netflix, the six-part crime documentary series examines murders within relationships. One such case is that of Usk-based tycoon Peter Morgan, who killed Georgina Symonds, a young woman described as headstrong, lovely, funny and happy.
Originally aired on Channel 5 in 2021, the show attempts to shed new light on Morgan’s motives for killing the 25-year-old mum from Newport in 2016.
The clip is seven minutes and 50 seconds into the episode when the narrator describes the victim’s background and upbringing in Newport.
Many Denbigh residents past and present were quick to notice the error, with several people commenting on Facebook. Emily Gilbert said: “We noticed that. Someone hasn’t done their research.”
Ken Clayton agreed, and said: “Definitely Denbigh. There was a series on a few weeks ago set in Blackpool but a lot of the outside filming was taken in Ashton Under Lyme where I now live so I guess it happens a lot.”
Lorraine Evans said: “The white house on the left is my childhood home for definite, you can even see the quarry in the distance.”
Denbigh is a small market town with a population of under 9,000 people while Newport is a city of nearly 150,000 people.
Previously a respected businessman and member of the community, Morgan made a fortune selling his business making prefab chicken coops in the late 2000s. However, following a trip to Amsterdam he began changing from family man and dedicated dad-of two to paying escorts for sex and, in 2011, he met Miss Symonds.
A burlesque dancer-turned-high-end call girl, Morgan soon became obsessed with her and offered her a place to live in the form a bungalow in the grounds of Pencoed Castle, the Grade II-listed Tudor pile he owned in Llanmartin. Morgan lavished her with expensive gifts, such as helicopter rides and liposuction surgery.
The relationship soured, which was added to by Morgan’s wife kicking him out. She’d long since known about her husband’s infidelities but decided enough was enough.
By early 2016 an increasingly distrustful Morgan installed listening devices in the castle bungalow to spy on Miss Symonds and listened in to her conversations several times a day – more than 500 times in total. The defence team claimed he lost control after overhearing her say she was planning to “fleece him”, break up with him and move to London.
They also claimed Miss Symonds “blackmailed” him and he feared she was going to reveal compromising sexual photographs to his family. As a result Morgan purchased a list of items including string, polythene sheeting, gloves and duct tape and went to see her at the address.
He claimed he planned not to kill her but only scare her, to force her to apologise. But when she told him “You’re gonna pay for this” he throttled her with a homemade ligature. Morgan then wrapped the body before hiding it on nearby farmland.
Miss Symonds was reported missing after she failed to collect her young daughter from school on the afternoon of January 12, 2016. Following his arrest, Morgan told police: “I strangled her this morning. I took her body to Beech Hill Farm. I love her so much.”
Morgan accepted strangling his victim, but denied murder on grounds of diminished responsibility due to Asperger’s syndrome and loss of self-control. Jurors saw through his lies and found him guilty of murder. He was later sentenced to life imprisonment at Newport Crown Court. The judge told Morgan the murder was “carefully planned and calmly executed”.
Speaking at that sentencing, Miss Symonds’ mother Deborah said the family were devastated. She said: “The death of my daughter has been a devastating tragedy for the whole of our family. Her beautiful daughter has been left without a mum. Georgina has left a hole in our lives that will never be repaired.”