Catching a killer
Martin Clunes plays the man who brought Levi Bellfield to justice
Levi Bellfield is one of Britain’s most notorious serial killers, and was responsible for the murders of Marsha McDonnell, French student Amélie Delagrange and schoolgirl Milly Dowler.
His crimes shocked the nation, and now a new threepart drama tells the story of the hunt to find the evil killer.
Made in consultation with the victims’ families, the drama stars Martin Clunes as DCI Colin Sutton, the real-life police inspector who led a painstaking investigation to put Bellfield behind bars.
As episode one begins it’s 2004, and the body of Amélie has just been discovered on Twickenham Green. As Colin starts to gather evidence, the press are already linking the case to other murders…
‘This role is a big departure for me, but it’s a story worth telling,’ says Martin. ‘I’d resisted offers of detective dramas in the past. But this was so different – it’s not sensationalised and I was interested in the chance to play this man.’
Determination
Martin reveals he wanted to capture Colin’s tenacity.
‘I felt a responsibility to Colin and to the victims, but this isn’t an impersonation,’ he says. ‘I did use Colin’s real London A-Z, though, and a perfect copy of his notebook.’
As part of his preparation, Martin spent time getting to know Colin and visited the murder squad at Hampshire Constabulary to see how an investigation operates.
‘The police are doing it because they care, just like nurses and doctors,’ he says. ‘It was really interesting to see the energy and the urgency: they worked through the night, pizzas would be brought in, there was camaraderie. I had no idea how well it all worked.’