Inside The Long Shadow actor's meeting with tragic character's real-life son

25 September 2023 , 08:00

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Inside The Long Shadow actor's meeting with tragic character's real-life son

Peter Sutcliffe's grim Yorkshire Ripper nickname makes it difficult to adequately convey the absolute devastation he left behind for his victims' families. Among the families left to pick up the pieces were the Jacksons following Emily's brutal and senseless murder.

In the midst of the bitter recession of the 70s, the Jacksons fell on hard times as Sydney Jackson's customers defaulted on payments, sparking a knock-on effect on his business as he struggled to pay the household bills. In a bid to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads, Emily bravely resorted to sex work - which tragically led her to cross paths with Sutcliffe and she became his second victim.

Line of Duty actor Daniel Mays, who plays Sydney in ITV's seven-part drama following the impact of Sutcliffe's vile murders, reached out to Sydney and Emily Jackson's son Neil ahead of playing the role. Opening up about their meeting, Daniel explained the effect their meeting had on him.

Daniel Mays plays Sydney Jackson in the ITV drama

"I did go and meet Neil Jackson, that was the one thing - you can do all the research and watch the documentaries and read all the books and everything," he explained. "But I did the same thing when I played the detective in Des - I went out and met Peter's widow and his son. I went and met the producer to go and set it up and I jumped on the train and went up and it suddenly hit me before I want into this meeting in this hotel, like 'F***ing hell, what am I actually going to say?'

"And he was so nice, so incredibly gracious and generous with his time. And it became so palpable to me, the realisation of what we were trying to put there on the screen. I have such respect for him for that hour he sat with me. He was a really incredible guy to share an hour with him."

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Adding to Daniel's comments, executive producer Willow Grylls said: "I think it's an incredibly important part of the process [to reach out] for two reasons. One is we needed to feel confident that people were happy with the choices that we were making and doing. But also for this programme to function as a kind of testament to them, we needed to get all the details right. And so, those people who chose to talk to us and chose to collaborate with us, they helped us achieve that and I think you can see that across all the seven episodes."

*The Long Shadow begins Monday at 9pm on ITV

Rose Hill