Lucy Worsley Investigates | Series 2 Preview (BBC Two)

Lucy Worsley returns to investigate some of the most dramatic and brutal chapters in British history, uncovering forgotten witnesses, re-examining evidence and following new clues.

In episode one, Lucy investigates how the Jack the Ripper case shaped the way we cover true crime today and looks at how the shocking killings created a world of entertainment based on murder. True crime might be thought of as a recent obsession, but in this episode, Lucy Worsley investigates the phenomenon through one of the world’s most infamous serial killers, Jack the Ripper.

Lucy uncovers a story which goes beyond a single murderer and his five victims – Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary-Jane - to a burgeoning newspaper industry desperate for readers and a Victorian society that wasn’t designed to support the most vulnerable. 

Lucy explores how this unsolved case fuelled a new sensationalist journalism, which set a template for many of the true crime stories that followed. In future episodes Lucy will investigate The Gunpowder Plot, Bloody Mary and 1066.

Lucy Worsley Investigates returns Friday 3rd January at 9pm on BBC Two.