My dad’s hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper was on The Long Shadow – it left me in tears but there’s a surprising upside
THE Long Shadow is a new ITV drama that explores the lives of the Yorkshire Ripper’s victims.
ITV producers spoke to real families who had been involved with the case while making the true crime series.
The show looks into the five year hunt for the killer, while keeping the focus on the 13 people who were murdered and everyone who was impacted around them instead of Peter Sutcliffe.
And one person was moved to tears after seeing how his dad was portrayed on the series.
Richard Hoban spoke to the production team about his memories of his father, DCS Dennis Hoban, in the lead up to The Long Shadow being filmed.
The detective was instrumental to the case as he was the one to identify that the murders seemed to be caused by one person, leading the search for a serial killer.
His son Richard, now 72, cried after seeing his dad’s death on screen.
He told the Metro: “It brought a tear to my eye. I can’t deny that.
“I thought it was done really sensitively on the programme, which I appreciated. It shows DCS Jim Hobson [played by Lee Ingleby], who was one of my dad’s best friends, ringing George Oldfield [played by David Morrissey] to tell him that Dennis had died.
“ITV have really looked after me through this process to make sure I’m okay. Their duty of care to the people involved has been outstanding.”
Although it was an emotional experience for Richard to relive his dad’s death – which happened before DCS Hoban was able to see the killer brought to justice – he appreciated how much of his input the show bosses took on board while making the series.
He was pleasantly surprised by how much Lee Ingleby did remind him of his father in the role, and was pleased to get the chance to talk about his memories of him.
He added: “It was almost like I was watching my dad at some points. It is kind of surreal.
“It’s a magnificent performance. The characterisation of my dad is absolutely superb. He’s captured my dad’s assertiveness, incredible observation skills, and analytical mind.
“He also had so much empathy for victims, which comes across.
“I always want to speak about my dad. It’s cathartic.”