This adaptation of the true crime story from the 1970s (and 1990s) has been a really strong series so far. True crime adaptations can be hit and miss, desperate to make an edge-the-seat crime drama out of a set of narrative elements that are already fashioned that are already inextricably linked to specific moments in time.
However, what Steeltown Murders has done is really zeroed in on the characters directly connected and affected by the murders of Sandra Newton, Geraldine Hughes and Pauline Floyd. Focusing on characters and giving them so much depth in turn gives the story and the drama so much more believable and affecting for us, the viewer, too.
When you look at this final episode itself, you have to say that nothing too much happened. Yes, we focused on Bethell trying his best to get permission to exhume Joseph Kappen’s body. And this was fine, but even if you don’t know the finer points of this case you could guess that the exhumation would eventually be granted and what the subsequent results of the DNA tests would be. And yet, with all that being said, I was still mightily invested precisely because I was so wrapped up in the characters and their journeys.
We saw Bethell and his obsession with bringing the case to a close; we saw Denver Hughes (Geraldine’s father) – someone I’ve been rather taken by – collapse in a heap when he was told that Kappen was, beyond any doubt, the man who murdered his daughter; we saw Sita Anwar confront her own guilt; and we saw Dai Williams make peace with Bethell and understand how the whole town had been affected by the events in 1973.
Should we be surprised by the excellent levels of characterisation when you consider the team behind some our favourite Welsh dramas (Severn Screen) is also behind Steeltown Murders? Of course not, and yet again the likes of Ed Talfan and Hannah Thomas have done a fine job in bringing their slow-burn style to a primetime drama on BBC One.
An excellent cast, some really emotional characterisation and some spot-on production design means that, in my eyes, Steeltown Murders was a success in a sub-genre
Paul Hirons
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READ MORE: OUR EPISODE ONE REVIEW
READ MORE: OUR EPISODE TWO REVIEW
READ MORE: OUR EPISODE THREE REVIEW
Steeltown Murders is shown in the UK on BBC One and iPlayer
The Killing Times 
Excellent drama up to the last episode
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I enjoyed a lot about it, especially the effect it had on so many people. But it did go down the ‘I am always right let’s focus on this man’ trope with Bethell which gets a bit jarring and a couple of threads went nowhere. But it was well acted and the two different time periods were done very well. Thank you for the reviews.
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Awesomely good series. Shied away from highlighting the technology and focused on the human elements. Unfortunately, there is always a top cop or official who is a spanner in the works – in fiction and in life.
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I’ve watched the first two episodes so far and sadly (as a retired criminal barrister) I have to agree that the police in my experience are very much as portrayed. Ass covering is usually job one most of the time. Of course as with any group self selecting as they may be there usually are some talented dogged/obsessives who achieve amazing results.
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