The Long Shadow: Emily Jackson's family torn apart and haven't spoke in 40 years

02 October 2023 , 18:30

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The Long Shadow: Emily Jackson's family torn apart and haven't spoke in 40 years

ITV's new true crime series The Long Shadow dates back 50 years to tell the dark and horrific murders of the Yorkshire Ripper and the tragic tales of his victims. Serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, who died in hospital in 2020, conducted a campaign of terror between 1975 and 1980, killing 13 women and attempting to murder at least seven more.

Episode two, which airs tonight, follows the breakdown of the Jackson family as they receive the devastating news that mum-of-three Emily Jackson - portrayed by actress Katherine Kelly - has been brutally killed. The 42-year-old woman was working as a part-time sex worker when she tragically became Sutcliffe's second victim.

Neil Jackson, the son of murdered Emily Jackson, has opened up about his family's breakdown (Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)

In the drama, Emily's husband, Sydney Jackson, admits that he knew what his wife was doing on the streets, as the couple had been struggling to make ends meet. In January 1976, just three months after his first murder, Sutcliffe picked Emily up in a car outside a pub and drove her to Manor Industrial Estate, where he pretended that the engine had failed. When the pair got out of the car to try and fix it, Emily volunteered to hold a light as he opened the bonnet, before Sutcliffe then battered her to death with a hammer.

Sydney, a local roofing contractor, was left with their daughter and two sons to take care of. But the death of Emily, who was the matriarch of the family, saw the rest of the family torn apart. Their eldest son, Neil Jackson, now 65, has spoken out about the devastation that ripped through the Jacksons following his mother's brutal murder.

Neil was 17 when police came knocking on their door in Churwell, near Leeds, to confirm his mother's death, before he then had to formally identify her as his dad was too shaken to do it. Neil has said that at that moment, which he wouldn't wish upon his worst enemy, "his life ended", with it taking days for the horrendous news to sink in. Previously speaking to the Yorkshire Post, retired roofer Neil recalled: "When it first happened, all the family - my brother and sister - were all split up. We haven't spoken in 40-odd years." He added: "I'm here today through my own health and helping myself - there was no victim support or anything."

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Neil explained that his family has not spoken in over 40 years after his mum died (Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)

And in a recent interview with The Sun, where he revealed he would be watching The Long Shadow, Neil explained that his younger sister went on to live with an aunt and his brother stayed with his dad. Meanwhile, Neil went on to join the army just two months later. "I had a difficult relationship with my dad. He was a bully and was abusive towards my mum," Neil revealed.

"I think he forced her into sex work rather than it being only her decision. Years later, I had a daft argument with him over something trivial and I hadn't spoken to him properly for 25 years by the time he died in 2007." He went on to claim that his siblings took his father's side, and they have been estranged ever since. He believes their family breakdown wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for Sutcliffe's callous actions, adding: "As I say, it wasn't just Mam who he killed. He killed the family."

Emily Jackson is portrayed by Katherine Kelly on ITV's The Long Shadow, which airs tonight (ITV)

On the news of Sutcliffe's death in November 2020, Neil, a dad and granddad-of-one, understandably felt relief. At the time, he told the Mirror: "When I heard he was dead I said 'thank f*** for that, it's about bloody time'. I have thought time and time again over the years that one day I will wake up and he will finally be gone - today is that day. I feel a great sense of relief more than anything, I'm glad he's dead there's no doubt about that.

"But I think he should have been killed a long time ago, he'd have been hanged if I'd had it my way. It riled me to think of him swanning around in prison, being looked and after and fed and all - he didn't deserve that kind of treatment. I've often had to work seven days a week to put food on the table and there he is being waited on hand and foot like he's at Butlins. The world is a better place without him. It's been a long time coming."

The Long Shadow airs on ITV1 at 9pm tonight

Nia Dalton