BBC ANNOUNCES NEW FACTUAL DRAMA ON THE EVENTS SURROUNDING THE MURDER OF SARAH EVERARD

The BBC has commissioned a new two-part factual drama about the events surrounding the horrific murder of Sarah Everard.

In March 2021 Sarah was abducted as she walked home from a friend’s house in Clapham, south London. The discovery that the perpetrator was a serving police officer and the subsequent fallout was a watershed moment for the nation which brought into sharp focus entrenched issues of misogyny and institutional failings within the police.

The currently untitled series for BBC iPlayer and BBC One will examine the circumstances that allowed a sexual offender to become, and remain, a Metropolitan Police officer. It will explore how, over many years and across his career in different police forces, significant evidence of sexual offending was repeatedly dismissed and poor vetting and a lack of training and motivation meant vital evidence against him was never collected.

It will consider the impact these failings have had on public confidence in policing, particularly in light of the epidemic of violence against women and girls.

Written by BAFTA-winning Jeff Pope MBE (Little Boy Blue, Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, A Confession) and produced by Etta Pictures, part of ITV Studios, it will be handled with sensitivity and respect. The production team are in contact with Sarah’s family.

Jeff Pope, writer and executive producer, says: “Wayne Couzens should never have been a police officer, but opportunities to deny him that privilege were missed. That he was still a serving officer on the night of March 3rd 2021, after committing numerous sexual offences over a long period of time, was a tragedy waiting to happen, and the key question asked by this drama.”

Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, says: “Drama has a unique ability to sensitively and respectfully tackle real life subjects and this series will explore the impact of this horrific crime, the misogyny and failings from within the Met Police and what lessons can be learnt. Award-winning writer Jeff Pope will treat this with the utmost care, helping to ensure that the issues that led to Sarah Everard’s murder remain in the public consciousness for years to come, whilst continuing to hold the police to account.”

The currently untitled factual drama (2 x 60) is an Etta Pictures production for BBC iPlayer and BBC One. The executive producers are Jeff Pope, Saurabh Kakkar and Kirsty Cunningham for Etta Pictures and Nick Lambon for the BBC. It was commissioned by Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama.

Further information will be announced in due course.