A brand new true crime drama starring Line of Duty's Anna Maxwell Martin and Endeavour's Shaun Evans is coming to ITV1 and ITVX, with filming for it having begun this month (February 2023). The show has been commissioned by World Productions which is also behind hit shows like The Pembrokeshire Murders, Bodyguard, Karen Pirie and Anne - to name just a few.
The working title of the programme - the air date of which has not yet been confirmed - is Delia Balmer and is based on its namesake's book, Living with a Serial Killer. Written by Nick Stevens, the four-part miniseries will follow the extraordinary story of Delia, an agency nurse, who in 1991 meets a free-spirited man named John Sweeney - with whom she soon enters into a relationship. But as time moves on, cracks begin to show and his darker side comes out as she is subjected to a series of violent attacks - during which he reveals he has murdered a former girlfriend whose body he disposed of in a canal in Amsterdam.
Following these attacks, John is arrested but, not realising how dangerous he is, is granted bail by the court. He takes this opportunity to seek out Delia and strikes again - in an attack which could have been fatal. He soon goes on the run, disappearing until seven years later when he is arrested for killing another girlfriend in north London. You can get more TV news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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Rebuilding her life after these vicious attacks, Delia must face her perpetrator once again as she gives a testimony that is vital to his downfall.
Speaking of playing the lead role, BAFTA-award winning actress Anna Maxwell Martin commented: "Telling an important story with the excellent team from World Productions, producer Ken Horn, director Julia Ford and a brilliant cast is always an exciting proposition! As it is brought to life by Nick Stevens, hopefully we will do Delia due diligence.”
Her co-star Shaun added: "I've previously worked with World Productions and ITV separately, so I'm looking forward to joining forces to tell this story, a story that is quite rightly told through the victim's lens, Delia. We have an excellent script from Nick Stevens and I couldn't be more delighted to work with Anna."
"A few months after reading Living with a Serial Killer, I had my first meeting with Delia Balmer," said the show's writer, Nick, "She was unlike anybody I'd ever met before. Still suffering from PTSD ten-plus years after John Sweeney’s conviction, Delia is, though she would never admit it, a hero.
"A survivor whose determination to pursue the good in life – to dance, to travel, to live - is ultimately greater than her demons. I am hugely grateful to Delia, and the police who worked with her to finally secure Sweeney’s conviction, for enabling us to tell Delia’s incredible story."
While the air date is not yet known, with British stars like this and a stellar production team, it seems set to be as gripping as the cast's previous shows.
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