After the tragic events in Ipswich in 2006 it was surprising that the BBC commissioned a drama that is still so raw in the memory in the people of that town. But the BBC handle it well in this sensitive 3 part series.
Five Daughters tells the story of the four of the five women that were murdered and how it affected they loved ones. Starting in October 2006, Tania Nicol, a 19-year-old working girl disappears and a reign of terrors starts in Ipswich. As this horrid event happened the drama tells the background story of the four other victims. Anneli Alderton (Jamie Winstone) was just released from prison after being hooked on heroin and prostitute. She wants to start a normal life, make amends with her mum (Juliet Aubrey) and become a hairdresser. Gemma Adams (Aisling Loftus) was a prostitute who was hooked on heroin, in a relationship with a man and a friend of Anneli who was attempting to get off the stuff. Annette Nicholls (Eva Birthistle) too was an addict, in trouble with local dealer and evicted from her home: but she reminds in her home. Finally there was Paula Clennell (Natalie Press), a prostitute who lives with a prostitute Rochelle (Ruth Negga) as they put their lives on the line with the impending threat stalking the town. With Ipswich in a state of terror one of the smallest police forces in the country to find the killer and the families are left in a state of grief and battle against the vultures from the media.
The easy way for a drama like this to go would have been to make it about the police investigate or the murderer. But luckily the writer Stephen Butchard decided to force on the victims and the families. He wrote a compelling teleplay that was deep in character depth, a three-dimensional portrayal of the victims who were all stuck in a horrid situation. He made an effort to portray the women in the most positive light possible. The police were shown at first be hard working but out of their depth. But they do come good and show how policing works. The film highlights the plight of street prostitutes with their addiction to drugs. It shows that the popular method to deal with prostitution would be to arrest and move the problem on: but that method does not work in the long term. It shows how desperate some women get and how they would risk they lives for money. It shows different views on the issue.
The director Philippa Lowthorpe is pretty standard for this type of TV drama. But she still does a good job, getting the best out of her actors: this is easily the best thing Jamie Winstone has ever done. She sets out to show a sensitive, down to Earth tale that takes a different approach to previous crime drama.
