ITV will be airing its new crime drama A Confession tonight (Monday, September 2) at 9pm. The six-part series stars Sherlock and The Hobbit actor Martin Freeman and Siobhan Finneran of Happy Valley fame. Based on true events, A Confession focuses on the search for Sian O’Callaghan, who went missing in March 2011 while on a night out with her friends.
Where is A Confession on ITV set?
A Confession is set in Swindon, Wiltshire in March 2011 and follows the real-life case of O’Callaghan and the subsequent police investigation.
The show has been created by BAFTA-winning TV producer Jeff Pope, whose other credits include Little Boy Blue, Cilla and the forthcoming The Barking Murders.
A Confession concentrates on Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher (played by Martin Freeman), who broke police procedure believing missing woman O’Callaghan was still alive and that he could find her.
Instead of taking the suspect and taxi driver Christopher Halliwell (Joe Absolom) to a police station, Fulcher took him to a remote location and interrogated him.
Fulcher avoided taking Halliwell back to a police station, fearing he would be given a solicitor and would be able to avoid answering questions.
His actions were in breach of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) which outlines that a suspect must be taken into custody and interviewed at a police station with a solicitor present.
After hours of questioning, Halliwell first made a confession about killing O’Callaghan and then about murdering Rebecca ‘Becky’ Godden-Edwards prior to this.
Halliwell subsequently took police officers to the locations of the two bodies.
When the case came to court in 2012, the confession was thrown out but Halliwell was still tried for O’Callaghan’s murder. Based on DNA evidence, Halliwell was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
This meant Godden-Edwards’ case couldn’t be tried, however, in 2016 he was finally sentenced for the killing. Halliwell was given a whole life order and is not eligible for parole.
Where is A Confession on ITV filmed?
A Confession was filmed on location in Wiltshire and the Home Counties with Broadchurch and Strangers director Paul Andrew Williams helming the series.
However, the programme-makers decided not to film in any of the locations where real events took place out of sensitivity to the families and those affected by the killings.
Speaking about filming locations, creator Pope told Radio Times: “We didn’t film on Swindon’s High Street or at Suju’s which is where Sian was taken from. We didn’t go to the field where Becky was found or the ditch where Sian was.
“We felt there would be friends and family of Sian walking down the High Street and there we are, recreating the moment when she gets into Halliwell’s car.”
The real-life Steve Fulcher said there was a lot of contact with Freeman before and during filming.
Fulcher explained: “I did meet Martin, as did my wife and daughters to whom he was charming. We also remained in frequent contact throughout filming as I returned to Somalia.
“Martin was able to draw from me an understanding of who I am and my motivation. I was keen to convey to him the issues illustrated by this case, the vital public importance and the strain of the dilemmas that ran throughout.”
He went on to say: “Martin would text me during filming. In the middle of a scene he would get hold of me to ask, ‘How did you respond to this?’ Or, ‘How did you react to that?’ He is absolutely brilliant in this production.
“Martin has clearly assimilated the complexities of the case and also the basis of my character. Which I thought was extraordinary.”
A Confession starts on ITV tonight at 9pm
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