THE shocking murders of five women in Ipswich have sparked memories of the reign of terror of serial killer Peter Sutcliffe.
Known as the Yorkshire Ripper, lorry driver Sutcliffe was sentenced to life in May 1981 on 13 counts of murder and seven counts of attempted murder between 1975 and 1980.
The trial at the Old Bailey in London was my first experience of the historic Court No 1.
Although a junior member of the MEN reporting team covering the case, it was still a baptism of fire.
And sitting just a few feet from the dock, I soon came face to face with Sutcliffe as he turned at a lunch adjournment at glared at the press benches.
Not a face you would ever forget.
Month: December 2006
THE mad dash towards the end of the year continues.
ITV held launches today for a second outing in 2007 of Manchester drama Cold Blood, plus the return of Trial and Retribution.
Meanwhile BBC2 revealed highlights of its winter / spring season of programmes – including The Verdict and new films from Louis Theroux.
The former sees a jury of famous faces sitting in judgement on a four day trial, presided over by a real judge in a real courtroom with real barristers.
Ex-Nottingham Forest and Liverpool player Stan Collymore will be one of the 12 jurors, along with disgraced former MP Jeffrey Archer, who served two years in prison for perjury, and actresses Patsy Palmer, Honor Blackman and Jennifer Ellison.
Ahh, we were all so much thinner back in the seventies.
One of the highlights of this year’s festive telly is It Started With Swap Shop.
As previously discussed in this blog, it will reunite Saturday morning presenters Noel Edmonds, Keith Chegwin, Maggie Philbin and John Craven.
Screened on BBC2 at 9pm on Thursday December 28, the marathon 130-minute show also features successors Saturday Superstore, Going Live and Live And Kicking.
THE boys are back in town – and here’s a new pic to prove it.
Sam Tyler (John Simm) and Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister) return for the second – and final – series of the best show on TV.
The conclusion of Life On Mars will finally reveal just what present day detective Sam is doing in 1973, and what becomes of Gene.
This new image was released yesterday as part of BBC1’s launch of its winter/spring 2007 new season of programmes.
It shows our two heroes with the iconic Ford Cortina against the backdrop of the Stockport council building used as the exterior for the seventies’ nick.
Although schedules are always liable to change, the new series is due back on screen in a month or two.
IT’S a strange time of the year in TV land.
While normal souls are looking forward to Christmas telly, we’re already watching the stuff that’ll be screened in January and beyond.
That includes a second series of Wild At Heart, which was a huge hit for ITV1 earlier this year, with audiences of over 10 million.
Which is why I put off the festive shopping yet again today and headed for ITV Network Centre in London to watch two new episodes filmed in the heat of the African plains.
RAVE reviews for An Audience With Take That Live.
And there’s good news for fans who complained that Saturday night’s show was over far too soon.
The hour-long spectacular came in at around 47 minutes long, thanks to ad and sponsorship breaks.
Aside from not being long enough and far too many shots of celebs in the audience, it was mainly all good fun.
So why did ITV bosses restrict Take That to just one hour in the schedule? Surely Parky could have been put back by 30 minutes to make extra room?
AND so we come to the end of another series of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!
Jason Donovan is odds on favourite to be crowned King of the Jungle in tonight’s ITV1 final.
But with Myleene Klass a close second favourite and Matt Willis the outsider with a large number of female fans, anything could happen.
All three were shocked when David Gest was evicted in last night’s show, as you’ll see from their comments in tonight’s programme.
Many viewers assumed he was safe and simply didn’t bother to vote for the star of the series.
But perhaps that’s what happens when you finally do the dishes.
The remaining three celebs have now completed their final trials and are fast asleep after an eventful last full day together. All will be revealed this evening.
Life of Wylie 