Emily Jackson was the second of the 13 women that the lorry driver Peter Sutcliffe was convicted of killing during a five-year period that ended in 1981. The Long Shadow, a seven-part series that began on ITV on Monday, focuses on his victims.
It begins with the murder of Wilma McCann, 28, in 1975, and the circumstances in which Jackson, 42, (a harrowing portrayal by Katherine Kelly) began to sell herself on the street for a fiver a time. Her husband, Sidney, was out of a job, her daughter needed a bridesmaid’s outfit, Christmas was coming. Jobs were scarce, a Labour government had cut benefits and instigated wage restraint. Neighbours viewed those on the dole as “scroungers”. Jackson wanted to look after her family and save face. She needed money. In 1976, she was stabbed 52 times by Sutcliffe.
