When I received Sarah Phelps’ brilliant scripts, I knew this was an essential story to tell.
The Sixth Commandment is a brand new four-part true crime drama which explores the deaths of Peter Farquhar and Ann Moore-Martin in the village of Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire, and the extraordinary events that unfolded over the following years.
Written by Sarah Phelps (A Very British Scandal, The Pale Horse), and produced by Wild Mercury Productions (a Banijay UK Company) and True Vision Productions, the distinguished cast includes Timothy Spall (Mr Turner, Spencer), Anne Reid (Last Tango in Halifax, Sanditon, Dinner Ladies), Éanna Hardwicke (Lakelands, Normal People), Annabel Scholey (The Split, The Salisbury Poisonings), Sheila Hancock (Unforgotten, A Discovery of Witches, Great Canal Journeys), Ben Bailey Smith (The Split, Andor), Conor MacNeill (Industry), Adrian Rawlins (Baptiste, Chernobyl) and Amanda Root (Summerland, Unforgotten).
The Sixth Commandment tells the story of how the meeting of an inspirational teacher, Peter Farquhar (Timothy Spall) and a charismatic student, Ben Field (Éanna Hardwicke), set the stage for one of the most complex and confounding criminal cases in recent memory.
It also focuses on how suspicions around Field’s relationship with Ann Moore-Martin (Anne Reid), Peter’s deeply religious neighbour, unlocked a series of chilling revelations.
The Sixth Commandment explores the way in which both Peter and Ann were manipulated by Field, capturing the extreme gaslighting, the gripping police investigation and the high-profile trial. While poignantly highlighting the devastating effect of isolation and loneliness, as Field closed in on them, it also celebrates both Peter and Ann’s lives as cherished mentors, much loved relatives and adored friends.
Timothy Spall says: “When I received Sarah Phelps’ brilliant scripts, I knew this was an essential story to tell. I am honoured to be playing the remarkable Peter Farquhar and hope I do him justice, which is the very least he deserves.”
Anne Reid says: “I found the story of The Sixth Commandment extremely disturbing and I feel a great sense of responsibility in portraying this good, kind, trusting woman, Ann, who was so cruelly deceived.”
Éanna Hardwicke says: “It is a privilege to join the brilliant cast and creative team behind The Sixth Commandment. I've long been a fan of Sarah's writing and Saul Dibb's filmmaking, and I know they are the people to tell this heart-breaking story with sensitivity and depth. Peter Farquhar and Ann Moore-Martin nourished the lives of many in their time and Sarah's writing beautifully draws out the richness of their lives and the positive impact they had while exploring the callousness and cruelty brought into their home by someone they trusted. I'm mindful and appreciative of the confidence of Peter's and Ann's families in trusting us with their stories.”
Sheila Hancock comments: “Liz is a larky 100-year-old woman. One of the few parts recently where I am not senile. I was attracted to the series because it has something to say about the vulnerability of old people. We hear constantly about them being conned and neglected. I also think it is one of the most extraordinary real-life stories of a wicked crime.”
Sarah Phelps, Writer and Executive Producer, says: “I wouldn’t have been able to write this without the help, support and insights of Peter and Ann’s families. I’m so appreciative of the trust they placed in me to tell the stories of their loved ones. I’m thrilled that we have such an astonishing cast and phenomenal team of creatives, led by our director Saul Dibb, to bring my scripts to life.”
Derek Wax, Executive Producer for Wild Mercury Productions, says: “This is a compelling and complex story, intimate, chilling and so poignant. Sarah’s scripts have really got inside its emotional heart, and with extraordinary nuance and passion. Saul Dibb as director has illuminated these characters’ stories with such insight, detail and authenticity.”
Brian Woods, Executive Producer for True Vision Productions, says: “Drama has the ability to explore the emotional truth beneath the headlines. From the outset we have been working with the families of Peter Farquhar and Ann Moore-Martin and we hope that The Sixth Commandment will illuminate their experiences and most of all, honour the lives of Peter and Ann.”
The Sixth Commandment is a Wild Mercury and True Vision production for BBC One. It is directed by Saul Dibb (The Salisbury Poisonings, NW) and produced by Frances du Pille (The Outlaws, The Watch). It is executive produced by Derek Wax, Sarah Phelps, Saul Dibb for Wild Mercury Productions, Brian Woods for True Vision Productions and Lucy Richer for the BBC. The Sixth Commandment is being distributed internationally by Banijay Rights.
The Sixth Commandment has been made in full cooperation with members of Peter Farquhar and Ann Moore-Martin’s families. Filming took place in and around Bristol and Bath.
AN
Watch the trailer
Timothy Spall - Peter Farquhar
You're talking about deeply intelligent people who are hoodwinked by their own dreams being answered, the softest part of their souls are being touched by somebody so seemingly genuine.
What sort of person was Peter Farquhar?
Peter Farquhar was a brilliant teacher, a Cambridge graduate who had just retired from Stowe when we first meet him and was about to take up a position as a guest lecturer at Buckingham University. He was obviously highly respected, much loved, had a huge influence on young people's lives and careers. We also discover early on that he was a very serious, devout Christian and that he found it very difficult to reconcile his repressed sexuality with his faith. Through discussions with a friend and a counsellor we discover that although he had many friends, he was quite lonely and felt deeply isolated within himself.
What sort of people are there in his life?
In Peter's real life, there was all sorts of friends and ex-students, and so forth. But his closest friends were his neighbours Liz played by Sheila Hancock and Ann played by Anne Reid and he has a brother Ian and his wife Sue who are very clever, and they were very close all their lives. These are the main people along with the lawyers and his colleagues. Pretty early on we’re into the relationship that he forms with Ben who is a student at Buckingham University. Not only is he very brilliant and mature but as soon as they meet it’s obvious that he's a cut above as far as his intellect is concerned. Ben is also the kind of young man that he's been secretly desiring for many, many years without doing anything about it.
What is it about Field that appeals to Peter and how does the relationship start to develop?
Well, Ben is obviously very intelligent and presents himself as a devout Christian. In all honesty, it's like somebody walking out of a dream. Peter more or less told a friend that he did not think that he was capable of being loved in an intimate way. He had resigned himself to spending the rest of his life as somebody who has a massive hole in his life. Then this younger man appears who is the embodiment of his wildest dreams and an intellectual equal. Field makes the running in telling Peter that he's fallen in love with him. He simply can't believe it and gets down on his knees and thanks God for something he didn’t think possible. Of course, it turns out to be the worst thing that could possibly have happened to him. His prayers are answered and his dreams are fulfilled - but they turn into a terrible nightmare.
What are the red flags that the audience is seeing that Peter isn't?
Ben's character is not just a manipulator, he’s somebody who becomes what Peter wants him to be and is very convincing. I think the audience are going to ask themselves if this is sincere. It isn't a standard gaslighting story where you see the victim as a pawn. This is much more sophisticated. You're talking about deeply intelligent people who are hoodwinked by their own dreams being answered, the softest part of their souls are being touched by somebody so seemingly genuine. As far as the audience are concerned, they’re not seeing an Iago here, you don't get scenes where he says, ‘I will do this or that to him’ - none of that. The psychology of Ben's character is far more sophisticated, far more subtle. It's not a cloak and dagger thing he does but much more psychological. Where are they? What are we? What's going on here? Is this real? Is this manipulation? Luckily, we have a brilliant young actor in Éanna playing his part superbly. He comes across as so genuine, so real, loving and helpful even when things seem to be going awfully wrong. When Peter starts to get very ill and hallucinates and behaves in ways that are totally out of character, he makes the assumption that he is just getting old. At the very point where he's about to live out the rest of his life in absolute blissful happiness with the love of his life, he becomes ill but doesn’t see anything nefarious going on at all. As the story develops, we follow the criminal process, the bringing to justice, in a case that was originally shut down and deemed to be accidental death.
What was your reaction to the scripts when you read them?
I thought they were superb. Dramas based on real life can look like drama docs, or they become about a process of events, but this is an investigation of real emotional depth in the writing which is so precise, so economical. There is real poetry in the series of events which reveal themselves slowly; it’s a development of emotions, focusing on the subtlety of things that can happen, of how people can be deluded. The scripts are beautifully crafted, economically written, focusing on what was eventually deemed to be the murder of Peter and the death of Ann.
Throughout history the people who become famous in the terrible drama of a murder tend not to be the victims but the murderers. How much do we know about the victims of Jack the Ripper? Or the victims of Harold Shipman? This story shows you what these people who were victims of this behaviour were like so that in a sense, it's a tribute to them. The Sixth Commandment shows how brilliant and vivacious these older people were, the subtleties of their lives and their vulnerabilities, their strengths, their intellectual acumen and their weaknesses. We see the slow erosion of this in Peter who was a wonderfully interesting, vibrant and intellectually brilliant man. He was an influential teacher, changing the life of so many young people, setting them on a track. But no matter how brilliant he was, all his life he suffered from a sense of not being worthy of love or intimacy.
What were the challenges of taking on the role?
It’s a massive responsibility when you're playing a real human being who was a family man, as they live on with love in people's hearts. It’s never lost on me and I have done my very best for Peter. I'm not trying to make it sound like some worthy, noble thing, but you're telling a story about someone who's loved and remembered and was alive not that long ago. So you really do want to get it right. Sarah Phelps has done a marvellous job in writing a drama that’s so subtle and delicate, riddled with such emotional depth. It's so important to me that the family are behind this; he was a much-loved human being who died so tragically.
What do you think is the appeal of The Sixth Commandment?
The more experience I've got, the more I realise you're never going to know how something is going to turn out - you may have an inkling but you endeavour to make it the best you possibly can. This drama is a tribute to murdered people and to the bravery from within the family in finding justice for them, because they loved them so much. They felt they deserved to be respected, understood and, as I mentioned before, it’s usually the murderer who gets top billing, not the victim. This is a drama about the victims, as well as the perpetrator. It’s an investigation and a display of the delicacy of what humans are like, how they can be intellectually powerful, but easily destroyed because they are vulnerable and open and in need of some kind of love, some kind of intimacy that they've not felt, either for many, many years or perhaps never.
How have you found working with Éanna?
Fantastic. When I first read the script I wondered ‘Who on earth are they going to get to play this part?’ From an acting point of view it’s a great role to play, but in reality it's very subtle and needs a brilliant actor. What we have in Éanna is a talented young actor doing everything one would hope to make the character of Ben so convincing, so believable and so attractive. Fundamentally, we're telling a story which might entertain but we’re also paying homage to the people who lived - and talking about the frailty of the human heart.
Anne Reid - Ann Moore-Martin
I think that the audience will find the whole story fascinating. But what's terrifying about this story is that this sort of terrible evil is hiding in plain sight.
Tell us about your character - what sort of a person was Ann Moore-Martin?
Ann was a model when she was young - a successful model. Then she became a teacher and headmistress. She lived on the same street as Peter Farquhar which is how she got to know Ben Field because he began living with Peter. Before long Ben identified Ann as a potential victim. By that stage she'd retired and was living in a very nice little house a couple of doors away. This young man becomes friendly with her and she finds him very pleasant and attractive. She’s also a very religious woman and Ben feigns a religious belief, so he gains her confidence and they become friends.
What was the appeal for you when you read the scripts?
Oh, they’re very, very good. Sarah Phelps is a very good writer. I mean, there’s a tremendous responsibility in playing somebody who was a real person - I've only ever done that once before and that was a very different character, [the romantic novelist] Barbara Cartland. But I've never taken a role before where I had to play somebody whose relatives are still alive and that’s a huge responsibility. Ann is a lively, intelligent woman and she dresses very well - I'm not playing an old lady in cardigans and jumpers, which is quite nice.
How does the relationship develop between her and Ben?
Ben sees her in the street with her little dog Rosie and he starts to talk to her. Then, when Peter dies, he comes into her house and starts doing odd jobs in the garden. He also talks to her about his plans for becoming a priest and she finds that - and him - very appealing. He wins her confidence and sort of draws her in. Then he tells her that he's fallen in love with her which, you know, is quite beguiling when you're 83. To have some young man paying all this attention - and she gets taken in by him completely.
I suppose what's frightening about the story and the character is that he is so credible and she's not a stupid woman is she?
Absolutely not - but of course there were suspicions that he had started to drug her as he had drugged Peter Farquhar. She gets completely drawn in by him because he's charming to her and they talk about religion quite a lot. He helps her around the house and before long she offers him a room because he says he has nowhere to live. Then they start a romantic relationship.
Tell us about Ann’s relationship with her niece Ann-Marie?
Ann and Ann-Marie are very close. I know somebody like that who's 30 years younger than I am and is like a niece to me, so I understand that relationship. They’re particularly close because my character doesn't have any children, so Ann-Marie becomes like a daughter to her and it's a lovely relationship. This is the first time I’ve played that sort of real love for a younger person who isn’t your child. But then we fall out because she thinks I'm mad being interested in Ben - she thinks his behaviour is very strange and she knows he's up to something.
What is the appeal of The Sixth Commandment do you think?
I think that the audience will find the whole story fascinating. But what's terrifying about this story is that this sort of terrible evil is hiding in plain sight. Ben Field could be anybody - he feels like he's a normal loving guy. It makes you sort of question your own life. I don't know whether I would have been taken in by someone like him, probably not. But it's very difficult to judge relationships. Often you look at other people and you wonder ‘Why are they attracted to each other?’ But I've got to imagine that they might be because she was an intelligent woman who was being drugged and that was tricky to play - I've never taken drugs so that was quite a challenge!
Tell us about acting opposite Éanna Hardwicke who plays Ben?
Éanna's lovely and he'd never worked in England before. When he talks naturally in his own voice he has this lovely Irish accent but his English accent is perfect. I got such a shock when I heard him talking as himself. I couldn't actually believe that he was able to just drop his accent completely. He’s been a joy to work with.
Éanna Hardwicke - Ben Field
He gets a thrill from lying and playing a part well, whilst fooling everyone, which he pretty much did. I think he himself said that what interested him was putting on a good performance.
Tell us about your character?
We meet Ben Field as one of Peter’s students at Buckingham University. He comes across as mature, intellectual, a devout Christian who loves literature. He appears funny, outgoing, affable, but he doesn't have any close friends. As the story progresses, we unpeel those layers bit by bit and begin to see what his motivations are.
Let's talk about the impression he makes on Peter.
Ben studies Romantic Literature with Peter and immediately strikes him as an exceptionally enthusiastic student. He likes to engage in lively debates about poetry and literature and he’s very creative, so they immediately share this bond. Peter sees him as mature, responsible, caring - and a committed Christian. So those two things - faith and literature - are the big entry points for their relationship.
How does their relationship develop?
It starts out very much as student and teacher, a meeting of friends with similar interests. We see them going to church together, exploring, discussing literature. But before long Ben starts playing on Peter’s insecurities. He also recognises Peter’s repressed sexuality and how isolated that has made him feel throughout his life, so he presents himself as the love of his life: finally, after all these years, someone to love and care for him. When their relationship becomes romantic and they are formally betrothed, it's very much as a meeting of two soulmates who share a strong faith. He presents himself as the kind of guy who's going to love Peter unconditionally and give him the affection he’s craved for so long.
One of the difficult things for audiences to understand will be Ben’s motivation for doing all this?
There are several but one of them is definitely financial gain; money, a house, to inherit something. But his chief motivation seems to be the thrill of doing what he's good at; it makes him feel significant, powerful, meaningful. I think the judge described him as someone who had a pathological need to manipulate, hurt and have power over others. He gets a thrill from lying and playing a part well, whilst fooling everyone, which he pretty much did. I think he himself said that what interested him was putting on a good performance.
We see Peter getting sucked into this loving relationship quite early on and as an audience, we're suspicious. What do you think are the other red flags?
It’s a tricky one, because for Peter this was a love story that felt real, even if it wasn’t for Ben. So in some senses, we should feel what Peter sees. The red flags are probably when you see Ben on his own with other people, those contradictions as the mask slips a little. This is what makes the script so interesting because it's a kind of objective viewpoint in that we get to see each person in different situations. So you can see Ben and Peter begin what could be a real, true, blossoming love story. Then you realise that there's something unreadable and ambiguous there. He might present a totally plausible, authentic-feeling persona to Peter, but in his interactions with everyone else we see that he's contradicting himself. There’s something really ironic and terrible in the thought that, had Peter met some of the other people in Ben's life, he might have realised he wasn't the caring, nurturing Christian he thought he was. But often these cases are about the need for love which means you’re blinkered to anything that might be remotely suspicious.
Is that what made Peter and Ann particularly vulnerable?
Peter and Ann both lived alone. They had close family but there were still lots of opportunities there for Ben. They say love is blind and it's very easy to see why you would be taken in because he was so plausible. Peter and Ann were shrewd people, both teachers who would have been very used to meeting hundreds of young people. It’s testament to the fact that they were both looking for companionship and that tragically, Ben offered them the exact version of what they needed and he came along at a time when they were at their most vulnerable. We see Peter opening up about his sexuality for maybe the first time, and that’s when he meets Ben - so it's a tragic coincidence.
How does Ben respond when Peter falls ill?
When Peter starts to get sick, you see Ben double down in his role as carer. He’s working at a nursing home and he's got all these credentials that suggest that’s his vocation in life. Peter writes in his diary about how he thanks God Ben is there to comfort him and give him his medicine. I suppose that is one of the most despicable manipulations he does, because it’s the medicine that’s killing him.
Ben then enters into a relationship with Peter’s 80-something neighbour Ann?
Ben enjoys deceiving people and he’s become more extravagant, ruthless, nightmarish. He finds those things that are precious to Ann and exploits them, in particular her Catholic faith. She was also a much-loved head teacher for years, she has a dog which she adores and she loves literature. He finds that common ground and presents the things she loves in life back to her.
What role does faith actually play in Ben’s life?
His faith gives him standing in the community; he's a church warden which gives him this veneer of credibility as a practising Christian who acts out the Word of God in his day-to-day life. Ben is a complex and evil character.
So what was the appeal of playing him?
When I first read the script, I suppose I was shocked - truth really can be stranger than fiction. Actually playing Ben felt a bit like going into a labyrinth. I had to set aside any horror and disgust I might have felt about what my character had done and get into his headspace. Thankfully there was loads to read and watch to try and understand him. I've always wanted to be able to play people with a distinctly different world view from my own - the thrill of acting is being able to momentarily step into something very different and surrender yourself to that. When it's a character who has done such terrible things, there’s a real balancing act in telling that story.
What appealed to you about Sarah’s scripts?
I love all the different viewpoints which seems very unusual for this genre. She follows the police, she follows Peter, Ann, Ben, Martyn, she follows the families. It's a rigorous, authentic portrayal of what happened. But it also shows you Peter and Ann before their lives were turned upside down and taken from them. It's really important that their deaths don't define their lives. Sarah has an amazing way of capturing the essence of people. We get to see and celebrate Peter and Ann as people before Ben enters their life. I love that broad overview. The second half is very much about celebrating the rigorous police investigation and the court case.
What is the appeal for audiences?
This is a story that cries out to be told, because it's a national story in some ways. It could be seen as a cautionary tale about people who might live by themselves but who are shrewd, sociable, part of a community - and yet this person was able to manipulate them and ruin their lives. Thankfully it’s an isolated and extreme example but there is something to be gleaned from that because elderly people living on their own can feel like unseen members of society and minor versions of what Ben did happen to people every day. This is a drama that tells their stories with great honesty and authenticity.
Annabel Scholey - Ann-Marie Blake
Sarah Phelps has focused on the humanity of the two victims which is really important to the families and a big responsibility for the cast.
Can you tell us about the character you play?
Ann-Marie is the niece of Ann Moore-Martin who was the potential second victim of Ben Field. She was incredibly close to her auntie who seems to have become a bit of a mother figure. There’s a beautiful scene where my character even says that her aunt taught her to read and write. She’s obviously completely devastated when her aunt falls ill and an MRI scan reveals that something isn’t right. She makes it her mission to get to the bottom of this out of guilt as well as out of love and grief. She's very determined and dogged and has a very raw emotional response, which I really enjoy playing.
What is it about her aunt’s relationship with Ben that makes her uneasy?
At first I think it's a gut reaction - when you're so close to a person and you know that there's something slightly off, but you have no idea what that might be. It's subconscious because he doesn't do anything particularly out of the ordinary at first. In fact he’s quite helpful around the house, making cups of tea and keeping her company - and he's also part of the church which her husband Simon keeps reminding her when she doubts him. But it feels as if whenever she calls her aunt Ben is there, but he won't come to the phone to say hello and he's never there when they visit, which is quite regularly because Ann likes to see the children. That’s what initially worries her. The differences in Ann are very subtle and most people probably wouldn't notice but Ann-Marie senses that she's not herself - slightly distracted, a little bit dishevelled, unsteady on her feet which is very out of character.
How does Ann react when her niece starts interfering and questioning her about Ben?
She becomes very closed off when Ann-Marie confronts her. She defends Ben like a new lover and Ann-Marie can't understand that at all and it definitely comes between them. They are best friends as well as like mother and daughter but that changes as she becomes quite cold towards Ane-Marie, which is obviously incredibly hurtful.
How would you describe Ben Field?
I think Ben Field is like a black hole. He sucks the life out of people whilst having the veneer of somebody very gentle, quite smooth and very intelligent. But there is just something off-centre about him. The way Éanna plays him is fantastic - he's disconcertingly calm and still but you feel as if your life is being sucked out of you - he stares right into your eyes.
What appealed to you about this project and in particular this role?
I've worked with Saul before on The Salisbury Poisonings, which I really enjoyed - he's a brilliant director and there was also the chance to play opposite Anne Reid who is so honest and raw. Ann-Marie’s very emotional, which is like me, so I was quite attracted to that. It’s always interesting to play somebody who is up and down emotionally. I also think it's important that Ann Moore-Martin’s story is told. Sarah Phelps has focused on the humanity of the two victims which is really important to the families and a big responsibility for the cast.
What is it like appearing in a crime drama based on real people?
Playing a person who's still alive is a real privilege. It's the second time I've done that - in The Salisbury Poisonings I played Sarah Bailey. I love acting but this role feels as if I'm also doing something more important, bringing attention to Ann and Ann-Marie’s story. I can only imagine how deeply upsetting it must still be for her family. Anne Reid plays Ann so powerfully. She's not just an older woman - she's a head teacher, very glamorous, intelligent, sharp, smart and funny. I've admired Anne forever so it's amazing to work with her.
What do you think will appeal to audiences about The Sixth Commandment?
I do think we have quite a fascination with true crime here in the UK especially something based on such an unbelievable true story. When I got the scripts, I immediately went onto the internet because I hadn't seen anything about it in the news. Then I watched the documentary and I thought ‘This is insane. How did he get away with this?’ I think people will be thoroughly drawn in. It’s a great cast and I think audiences will be able to relate to the victims; we've all got relatives and neighbours who live alone and might be vulnerable. It's a very relatable, frightening story.
Jonathan Aris - DCI Mark Glover
It's an absolutely heart-breaking story, brought to life by brilliant actors.
What sort of a character do you play?
DCI Mark Glover is brilliant and has an amazing mind. He’s an incredibly dogged investigator and very impressive, really. He’s also softly spoken and underplays his status, motivating his team by quiet encouragement and suggestion rather than throwing his weight around. He has a great team and, like him, they all seem to be determined and relentless, doing everything for the right reasons for the families of the victims and for the truth, not - as far as one can tell - for personal glory.
How did you go about researching the role?
Before filming began, I learned a good deal from watching the Catching a Killer documentary and did as much research as I could around that. The investigative team come across as deeply impressive and it's not a side of police work that you often see dramatised in this way. Usually police teams are, you know, riven by conflict or struggling with tragic personal flaws or whatever, whilst this is just an example of brilliant, intelligent policing - and they won't quit until they've got their man.
What was your reaction to Sarah Phelps’ scripts?
My character arrives in episode three, obviously after the victims have suffered their fates and the investigation kicks off. I thought the scripts were exceptional, very moving in their portrayal of the victims and the surviving family members, very impressive in depicting the way the investigation unfolds, and the way in which the police and the legal system have to wrestle with an unbelievable mass of information, great complicated timelines and all sorts of source materials. The scripts are also structurally really interesting, because each one is like a separate chapter, a little chamber piece unto itself. Combined they tell this shocking and extraordinary criminal story. What Sarah Phelps has done so brilliantly is to ensure your emotional investment with almost every character. So as much as you're horrified and repelled by Ben Field, you're also fascinated and drawn in just as the poor victims are. It's an absolutely heart-breaking story, brought to life by brilliant actors.
Tell us more about the police investigation.
I was absolutely fascinated by the way in which the police had to turn this morass of information into a simple, clear legal story that a jury could understand in the hopes of bringing Ben Field to justice. The police got drawn into the case two years after Peter had died apparently of natural causes. So it's all retrospective, speculating about what might have happened, but in the absence of much forensic, concrete evidence, which is really hard for the police. There’s no longer a crime scene. They have to go back and go through Peter’s extensive journals, so it's a deep dive into research material as much as anything else. Mark and his team are doing extraordinary things that other people can't really understand.
The job must be very demanding?
It is - not only are they banging their heads against paperwork most of the time, but they’re also going out to some very difficult autopsies, or giving unsettling news to victims’ families. Those would be very difficult meetings to hold in real life but no matter how hard or painful it might be, you just have to keep going until the job's done.
Did you feel a big responsibility to be accurate and respectful?
I've met the real Mark Glover who visited the set and I found that tremendously useful and interesting, but also reassuring that he was on board. He seemed to be very interested in how a film unit works and he thought the level of realism, the sets and the art direction were impressive, so that was great. But you’re very conscious you don’t want to upset the people still alive, let alone the relatives or the memory of the deceased. I’ve been working with such fantastic actors who give such sensitive truthful performances and there's an aura of respect around the whole project, I think,
How did you find working with Éanna?
Working with Éanna elicited all sorts of simultaneous feelings. Firstly, in the presence of a remarkable performance - I've worked with him before on something quite different so to see him undergo this transformation is very impressive. Also, because we'd all studied the documentary so closely, we're very aware of what Ben Field himself looks and sounds like and of how he behaves. Therefore when you see this recreation in front of you in the flesh, it's startling and very, very creepy. I can't remember having been quite so chilled in any other work I've done. It really was an extraordinary experience.
What do you think is the appeal of this particular story?
What's unusual about this series is that the crimes themselves are so extraordinary and Ben Field’s character so bizarre and ghastly that they almost defy dramatisation - if it wasn’t true, you wouldn't believe it. That takes you as a viewer to some quite unsettling places but it plays out in this very understandable human, delicate way.
Sarah Phelps - Writer and Executive Producer
A lot of TV programmes give you the sense that you're falling under the spell of the killer, who’s incredibly intelligent, with some grand plan, but I wanted to understand and honour the victims, to give them life and dignity. They were more than just Ben Field’s victims.
How did you get involved with The Sixth Commandment?
I was contacted by the BBC who had been brought a really interesting story they would like to talk to me about. So I met with Executive Producers Derek Wax and Brian Woods and they then sent me a huge stack of material - I'm not kidding, it reached from the floor to my ribcage - which were the court transcripts, Peter’s diaries, the Thames Valley police investigation... They also sent me the documentary Catching a Killer: A Diary from the Grave which Brian executive produced. I remembered following the case as it was happening and I could feel it coming to life in my head as a story before I even started going through the research material.
What was it about this case that you found so interesting?
There were so many elements to it. I started out thinking that this was a really twisted, sad story which had a fairy tale quality to it. It’s about an English village into which walks somebody who is entirely predatory but who quickly becomes absorbed into the life of the village - the university, the church, and he was so good at camouflage that nobody saw the wolf's clothing. It felt like one of those Hans Christian Andersen or The Brothers Grimm fairy tales which everybody thinks are really cute but they're not - they're terrifying. I felt that there was something quintessentially English in this dark, dark fairytale in the sense that you could live in this ordinary place, where everybody knows you, you’re surrounded by good neighbours, and yet you could slowly die in front of them and nobody would know what was happening or say anything. That seemed to me to be the story, that tension between public respectability and private yearning, a sexual desire that you can't speak about that’s at war with your religious beliefs. All those elements drew me to the project.
So it is as much about the victims as it is about the crimes?
It is - I’ve spent a lot of my career writing about murder, and I think the victim is always the most important element. One thing I didn't want to do was to glamorise the killer. A lot of TV programmes give you the sense that you're falling under the spell of the killer, who’s incredibly intelligent, with some grand plan, but I wanted to understand and honour the victims, to give them life and dignity. They were more than just Ben Field’s victims. That backstory was really important for me. Peter and Ann led full, vibrant, intelligent, educated, lives full of curiosity with families, friends, social lives, their love of poetry and theatre and their devout faiths.
Tell us about Peter’s journals and what they revealed?
It was Peter’s diaries that helped the police to crack the case and to identify Field as a killer. He wrote assiduously every day, right down to the smallest, seemingly ridiculous, most tiny detail. When he began to write about falling ill, he didn't know of course that he was writing about his own murder. This man spent so much of his time writing about how kind Ben was being to him, bringing him cups of tea - and how four hours later he fell down the stairs.
What about Ann’s private life?
Ann had also led an extraordinary life. She'd been a model, a teacher and a headmistress. It was vital to me to go beyond seeing a photo of somebody in the paper which is how you then remember them. But there's all the life they’d led before they died, filled with their kindness, their curiosity, their generosity, their open heartedness, their faith, all of which made them a target in this case. It was really important to convey all of that spirit, rather than let Field have the final word, if that makes sense.
There must be a fine line between writing an entertaining script whilst remaining respectful?
Really good TV does something other than entertain, inform and educate, all of which sounds rather dry. I think it draws you into a really deep, dark story which doesn’t just tell you what happened but also how it happened which is just as important. It's about drawing people in, making them really invest in the story. Of course, there’s a fine line to walk but you can't be sententious - you want to tell a love story, because that's what those people believed they were living. You have to understand them and how they might have fallen prey to this man's lies, you've got to make them come to life so that what happens is really shocking. You need to get right under these people’s skins, think about who they are, who they love and what their life means to them; Peter as he writes his diaries or Ann as she walks her dog and looks forward to her family visiting. It was a new experience for me. I didn't want to be prurient but wanted to imagine the richness of their long lives and what they hoped for next. That felt really important to me as a way of driving the story forward, because they were never going to get there now. We also worked closely with the victims’ families, and they had to trust that I was going to do right by their loved ones.
What is it about the story that will appeal to audiences?
I think the appeal is that ultimately justice was done. The trial took place in 2019 so it's very recent. We peel back the layers of that case, which very quickly became about how this young man tricked and inveigled his way into the spotlight. It's about understanding the human cost of this story, not just for Peter and Ann, but also for their families. It’s also about watching exemplary people doing their detective work and finally tracking down somebody who had done terrible things.
How would you sum up The Sixth Commandment?
It's a very emotional and frightening story in a kind of ordinary way. It makes you think about how we live in our own little worlds and what we value in life. We need to look more closely at the people we think we know and realise so many are vulnerable and full of hope. And we need to be more vigilant about the people who come into our lives.
Saul Dibb - Director
Clearly the most terrifying thing about this story is that these were educated, clever, savvy people who were slowly drawn in by an incredibly plausible, articulate person - he is not your average villain.
This was a well-known news story and there’s also been a documentary about the subject. What discussions did you have at the beginning about how you wanted to tell this story?
I think it’s important where people might feel as if they know a story to show them something that they don't know. It begins with the complexity of the people involved, the victims. Their deaths have been defined by their relationship with Ben Field whilst their lives weren't. From the very first draft, the writer Sarah Phelps brilliantly captured an extraordinary portrait of this man, Peter Farquhar, who seems to be falling in love for the very first time in his late sixties. She really manages to get under his skin and that of his neighbour Ann so that you begin to understand their vulnerabilities and in particular their human need for intimacy, for the love of another person, whatever their age. Ben Field understood that and targeted people who were old and vulnerable.
The other interesting thing is the way in which the drama is structured In four different chapters, like a novel, where you begin with one person’s story. By the end of the first episode, that person has died and you move on to the next person. In the third episode, a whole new set of people come in - it’s only then that the police investigation begins, whilst the fourth episode is about the lawyers and the courtroom. Obviously, the person who takes you through all four episodes is Ben Field.
How do you think people will feel when they watch The Sixth Commandment?
Clearly the most terrifying thing about this story is that these were educated, clever, savvy people who were slowly drawn in by an incredibly plausible, articulate person - he is not your average villain. He’s a student of Romantic Literature, he’s training to be a priest, trusted by these institutions and given jobs in the local church. So many people were taken in by him. What’s frightening is his ability to reflect back what each individual needed to see or hear so that he is subtly different with each person he comes into contact with. In some senses he is able to give them what they didn’t know they needed so that while he clearly lacked empathy on lots of levels, he had a certain degree of emotional intelligence, able to see into people’s darkest, most private, most intimate needs and desires, and then he would manipulate them as if it were a game. I think that’s terrifying for anybody.
How do you interpret these real stories with sensitivity?
From a moral point of view, I think it’s almost impossible to make something like this without the people involved being on board however difficult that might be for them. When we made The Salisbury Poisonings - which I directed immediately before this - that was the first question. The scripts for The Sixth Commandment are so beautifully written and so intimate. I hope that that we have done them and their stories justice, but without ducking away from anything that might feel complex or difficult, because I think that has to be part of the story too.
How did you go about casting Peter Farquhar and the other main characters?
When I first talked to our Casting Director Julie Harkin, Tim’s was the first name that came up. He has this ability to get under the skin of really complex people, but he's a very human actor. Peter was a Cambridge graduate with a vivid imagination, very intellectual, a very specific character. But when Tim and I discussed the role, I realised that these two people shared a lot in common - a fascination with the world and ideas. Tim knows a lot about art, literature and poetry, all those things that fascinated Peter throughout his life. It also felt really important that the three older people - Peter, Ann and Liz - should be played by actors who have a certain recognisability and credibility which then allows us to introduce Field as a relatively unknown character, somebody who carries no baggage whatsoever. That meant we had a free rein to introduce a character who we take at face value which means he can quietly enter the audience’s lives just as Ben Field did.
Tell us about casting Éanna?
Éanna is from Southern Ireland and is very unlike Ben Field in many ways. But when he slips on that mask, slips into his accent, treads in his shoes, it’s extraordinary. It’s a very difficult performance to give and has to be so subtly done. He needs to be believable as someone who is duping these intelligent, bright people - and he also needed to pull off a brilliant battle rap! Ann-Marie's husband and Peter’s brother wanted to see the good side of Field and they found it very difficult later on when the truth about him came out. We all need someone like Ann-Marie in our lives, who will cut through the lies and say, ‘This isn't what's actually happening.’ It put a huge strain on her relationship with her aunt but in the end, she was the person who started the whole ball rolling in terms of the investigation that stopped Ben Field from going on to potentially find many future victims.
What makes this story so compelling?
It’s that creeping sense of these ordinary people being seduced by somebody and having no idea of what's going on. It’s a form of very subtle, very sophisticated gaslighting where people are made to believe things that aren't true. Field appears incredibly charming, luring people in. Then you see him doing it to the next person and it's a completely different experience, because you begin to understand there's a modus operandi - and you desperately want there to be some kind of justice.
What were your concerns in terms of hitting the right tone?
For me, it all began with tea. I took as my reference that brilliant psychological thriller Gaslight from 1940. They don't mess about - the first shot is of a flickering candle on the wall of a house so you understand immediately that something's up. So it was important for me that the first thing you see is Peter putting the kettle on - throughout the series there's a continual sense of this very English thing - what better way to carry poison into the hearts of Middle England than through cups of tea. It builds a kind of tension. More and more cups of tea are drunk and then they start to be made by Field. There’s a creeping sense of dread. I don't mind if people don't get the first, second, third or fourth cup of tea, but by the fifth, sixth, or seventh one, when somebody has been handed a cup of tea, and they're having hallucinations it's like a collision of psychoactive drugs. Then begins what Field called snake-talking, convincing these people that their feelings of going slightly mad or crazy were all in their head, not caused by a simple cup of tea.
What do you think is the overall appeal of The Sixth Commandment?
It’s an extraordinary story happening in the most ordinary middle-England village. I think stories like this are so weird, gripping and dark, but have such a strong human and emotional connection within them. I think people will get sucked into this tale of a wolf in sheep's clothing who enters this tiny village and attempts to take over it over, one person at a time…
Derek Wax - Executive Producer
When the trial happened, I was riveted because I had such vivid memories of Peter as gregarious, sometimes quite fierce, but inspirational. It was very upsetting to hear the details of what happened.
Could you tell us about the genesis of the project?
First of all, I was a pupil at Manchester Grammar School where Peter Farquhar was an English teacher. I was never taught by him personally, but I remember him so clearly and knew how inspiring he was in the classroom. When the trial happened, I was riveted because I had such vivid memories of Peter as gregarious, sometimes quite fierce, but inspirational. It was very upsetting to hear the details of what happened. A little after that, I happened to be having a coffee with Brian Woods who runs the factual production company True Vision. I asked him what he was up to, and he told me they were making a documentary following the Thames Valley Police as they investigated the murder of a schoolteacher, and I realised it was exactly this story. We began to discuss it in detail and thought there might be an approach to the same story through drama, that would enable us to really explore who these people were in a rounded way, not just from the viewpoint of the police investigation.
What particularly drew you to this story apart from your personal connection?
There are so many fascinating and gripping themes in the story. At one level it's a study in loneliness, and how somebody who, not least because of his strong Anglican Christianity, has spent his life hiding his sexuality from the world. How does someone like that live and what does that do to him, and how, in a way, being released from that and falling in love for the very first time made him so vulnerable. We see this young man who's charismatic, seemingly extremely charming and very warm-hearted. The people he duped weren't gullible in any way, but Ben Field was particularly clever and manipulative. I think that it's a story of our time, because so many people are being scammed or defrauded in different ways. People’s defences aren’t always that strong, and if somebody comes along who looks as if they're trying to be generous, warm and helpful, very few people can completely close themselves off to that, I think.
I also found it gripping that this took place in a small English village full of Christian values where people go to church every week and listen to sermons preaching morality, when in fact, what’s going on is deeply sinister and malevolent. That idea of danger in plain sight is what's both compelling and terrifying about this story.
How does this story differ from other true crime dramas?
We always wanted to focus on the emotional experiences of the people who were the victims as well as the bereaved families. We’re not following a sociopathic person around and seeing the world through his eyes, we're witnessing the fallout and emotional consequences of what Ben Field did to these very ordinary people who happened to be related to Peter Farquhar or Ann Moore-Martin, and exploring the impact, how it transforms your life in the most shocking ways - and of course, they all respond differently because nobody can quite believe that Ben Field is other than what he says he is. So it scars them in different ways and takes them into very difficult emotional territory.
Obviously, you’re dealing with real people here and a murderer who is still alive as are members of the victims’ families. How have you gone about sensitively treading that fine line between making an entertaining and compelling drama whilst respecting the victims and their families?
The first priority for us was always to honour Peter Farquhar and Ann Moore-Martin as human beings, their individuality, warmth and vitality. The documentary did that but there wasn't that much actual footage of Peter or of Ann, nor did it follow her story. It’s hard to emotionally engage with them as characters if you only see photographs and the briefest bits of footage, whereas a drama gives you an opportunity to illuminate those lives in a three-dimensional way, particularly if you've got very strong actors who can chart the emotional journey of those characters and get into the nuances and complexities of their lives. We've tried to be accurate and respectful in our depiction of the experiences they had.
The writer Sarah Phelps met Peter’s brother Ian, his wife Sue and Ann’s niece Anne-Marie several times. The families’ trust was absolutely key and crucial to us. We involved them as much as possible. It was crucial to ensure that they were aware of how we were going to portray Peter and Ann as well as reflecting their actual emotional experiences, because it wasn't easy. We take this responsibility very seriously and the drama was made with the utmost sensitivity.
Can you tell us about the casting?
Tim Spall was our first choice for the role of Peter Farquhar. There's a degree to which physical resemblance is important as you couldn’t cast a six foot five actor to play Peter, but the key element is the emotional imagination of the actor and his sheer ability to get under the skin of that person. Tim has been absolutely remarkable and has found so many different layers and dimensions to Peter. It was an extraordinary experience seeing the way that he engaged with the character as a person, found his sense of humour, his dryness, his wit, his vulnerability, his loneliness, his beginning to fall in love for the first time in his life, and seeing him opening himself up to somebody with obviously fatal consequences really touches our hearts in that first episode.
What does Anne Reid bring to the role of Ann Moore-Martin?
Ann Moore-Martin was a wonderful, generous human being. She was also a teacher who was sociable, gregarious and warm as a character, plus there is her strong religious belief. Obviously, I’d seen Anne Reid in shows like Last Tango in Halifax and she always finds the humanity and emotional heart in her performances so we were delighted she wanted to play the role. She’s also got this youth and feistiness, which defined Ann in her early 80s. Ann still felt open to a romantic relationship, despite the age gap and her relationship with Field needed to be credible and convincing. Anne Reid is so incredibly moving in this role. She and Tim are such great troopers, so collaborative and brilliant and it's been a real pleasure to have those two at the top of the cast list.
How did you cast Ben Field?
We'd seen Éanna in Normal People - he’s an extremely convincing, talented young actor. We auditioned quite a number of people for the part, but his natural charm and warmth shone through. Of course, that's key to the casting of this role, that he doesn't appear to be a cold, sociopathic character - we should experience him in the way that the whole village sort of fell in love with Ben Field. He was a church warden, giving lessons and sermons from the pulpit and becoming an integral part of their community. This young man seemed so intelligent, so warm, so Christian and devout. We need to feel that for the dramatic arc of the piece to work, and Éanna surpassed all our expectations. He's superb and has found all the different dimensions to the character, so that we actually believe that he is open and lovable - but then we get taken on a very different journey by him.
What did you think Sarah Phelps would bring to the project as a writer?
We were very lucky in that when we asked Sarah if she would be interested, her response was immediate and instinctive. She could grasp the richness of the story as well as its poignancy and dramatic potential, but she was also immensely respectful of her obligation to the families to tell the story in the most sensitive way possible. She did a huge amount of research to illuminate the stories in the most powerful and compelling way. It's a real tribute to her that the scripts have got this terrific emotional power and complexity. She gets under the skin of the characters and brings them to life so that you get the feeling that these people who lost their lives far too early have been brought back to life by her writing and by the way the actors have inhabited those characters.
Tell us about the director Saul Dibb?
Saul’s work on The Salisbury Poisonings was exceptional. Everything felt so real and gripping. There's an absolute honesty and authenticity about his approach, trying to get to what's real and truthful in those characters. Saul has been a terrific collaborator on this. He and Sarah were really involved in the casting and in guiding and supporting the whole team through the experience. Saul's really found the heart of the story and has managed to illuminate these characters’ lives with great imagination. It's all about the detail and his great gift is for finding the nuance of relationships. He uses the camera to illuminate character and to tell the story in the most fresh, immediate, creative and compelling way possible.
Brian Woods - Executive Producer
Whilst the documentary was very successful, it didn't really conjure up the people Peter Farquhar and Ann Moore-Martin were in life and I felt that was very important.
How did you first come across the story of Ben Field?
My production company True Vision was making a series called Catching a Killer with Thames Valley Major Crime in which we followed murder investigations. We'd already made four films when they called us and said that they had another case that may take some time, but they thought it might be quite interesting. We went along to the first briefing, at which the Senior Investigating Officer Mark Glover explained that Ann Moore-Martin had been taken to hospital and was gravely ill and they had concerns that one of her neighbours, Peter Farquhar, may also have been a victim of the person that they had both become involved with. I didn't know at the time that it was going to become a two-year investigation which turned into the documentary A Diary from the Grave which originally went out on Channel Four in 2019.
What was it about the story that makes such a compelling drama?
Whilst the documentary was very successful, it didn't really conjure up the people Peter Farquhar and Ann Moore-Martin were in life and I felt that was very important. With the blessing of both families, we were able to really bring them back to life and see the complexity of their life journeys that had led them to live in a place like Maids Moreton in their later years, whilst also exploring why they were susceptible to falling prey to a predator like Ben Field.
How did you set about adapting the story?
When you are making a documentary following a police investigation, it is inevitable that the police officers are your primary characters - but Sarah has rather brilliantly constructed the series so that they don't actually appear until episode three. By the time we meet them, we have really got to know Peter and Ann and their backstories. What's most compelling about this story is the way Ben Field charmed pretty much everyone he met even though he was truly a monster. The one person he didn't take in was Ann Moore-Martin's niece and if it hadn't been for her suspicions, he could have gone on to murder many more people. Field is quite extraordinary because he wasn‘t someone who just breezed into their lives, charmed them and got them to change their wills - he lived with Peter, who really did love him, for quite some time.
What is it that makes The Sixth Commandment different from other dramas?
The actors all watched the documentary to get a real sense of the people they were playing. The police visited the set and were impressed by the attention to detail. What’s extraordinary about this story is that it’s all true.
Key cast and creatives
- Timothy Spall - Peter Farquhar
- Anne Reid - Ann Moore-Martin
- Éanna Hardwicke - Ben Field
- Annabel Scholey - Ann-Marie Blake
- Sheila Hancock - Liz Zettl
- Ben Bailey Smith - Simon Blake
- Conor MacNeill - Martyn Smith
- Adrian Rawlins - Ian Farquhar
- Amanda Root - Sue Farquhar
- Written by Sarah Phelps
- Directed by Saul Dibb
- Produced by Frances du Pille
- Executive producer for Wild Mercury Productions - Derek Wax
- Executive producers - Sarah Phelps, Saul Dibb
- Executive producer for True Vision Productions - Brian Woods
- Executive producer for the BBC - Lucy Richer
Distributed internationally by Banijay Rights
A Wild Mercury and True Vision production for BBC One