White House Farm is the latest in a long line of true-crime dramas from ITV. The broadcaster has steadily become the unofficial home for responsible, well-considered and compassionate retellings of horrific crimes that remain fixed in the public consciousness.
In a genre where so many titles fall short, their tone questionable, the presentation of facts flimsy, ITV has demonstrated that it is a safe pair of hands to tackle such grisly subject matter.
Appropriate Adult, Little Boy Blue, A Confession and now White House Farm have all earned high praise, which is no small feat in a highly saturated market, and we'd expect upcoming drama The Pembrokeshire Murders to also follow that lead.
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The show, starring Luke Evans, will retell the pursuit of Welsh serial killer John Cooper, also known as the Bullseye Killer.
But while White House Farm largely gets it right, its extensive research and sensitive handling bolstered by credible performances and first-rate cinematography, there is one area in which it falls down: putting dead bodies on display.
During the scene at the morgue when the forensic pathologist is explaining his findings to detectives, Nicholas and Daniel – Sheila and Colin's six-year-old twin sons – remain covered. The drama only depicts them before the shootings take place, or in photographs, but never in their deaths – both necessary and a small consolation given the horrific manner in which they were taken, that narrative decision asking viewers to remember them as they were.
Related: White House Farm highlights the *other* crime taking place
But we do see the bodies of June, Nevill and Sheila, each with multiple gunshot wounds and their own individual injuries.
That decision to show their bodies would feel less disturbing in fictions such as Silent Witness or Luther – but even then, nothing exists in a vacuum and crime shows in particular have long come under fire for their morbid fascination with the bodies of (young) female victims. Fiction or not, it's still important that creatives proceed with caution.
But White House Farm is based on real events, which makes this infinitely more delicate.
The series goes one step further, showing recreated crime scene photos of June, Nevill and Sheila, both in episode two and again in the finale.
Nevill is hunched over a barrel, beaten into submission. Sheila's hands clasp the rifle, which lies on top of her, its barrel placed beneath her chin. All of them are covered in blood.
You could be forgiven for thinking that you were looking at photos lifted directly from confidential police files, which is both deeply disturbing and – we'd argue – unnecessary.
We never need to see dead bodies. The subject matter of White House Farm is harrowing enough, and by having them on screen, it feeds into the more voyeuristic, tabloid appeal that has drawn viewers to the Bamber family's tragedy.
Related: White House Farm tackles dangerous mental-health clichés
Speaking to Bradford Zone about the drama, Mark Addy, who played DS Stan Jones, said: "Viewers don't see a huge amount of the horror of the crime scene involving the three adults and they see nothing relating to the two children who were murdered.
"Our director Paul Whittington did not want it to be a graphic scene. In a way it's more interesting to watch Stan as he sees it."
Well said. But the pools of blood and red-soaked mattresses were enough. We didn't need more. We never need more, and both Criminal and Mindhunter have proved that dialogue and performances alone are powerful tools, doing the heavy lifting by utilising the horror of the unseen.
True-crime dramas will always present a unique challenge, but while the very best seek to paint the whole picture, some details are better left out.
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