Channel 5 is to show ITN Productions’ feature length true crime doc, The Intruder: He’s Watching You From Within.
The 1×120’ documentary details the pursuit of one of the most prolific and depraved offenders in British criminal history – told by the detectives who ultimately snared the man responsible – Malcolm Fairley.
The film also includes never before heard police interviews with Fairley confessing to his terrible crimes and explaining why he did them.
In the blistering hot summer of 1984, a sadistic predator is terrorizing rural Britain. It seems no one is safe. His victims are men and women, ranging in age from teenagers to pensioners. His hunting ground – the towns and villages across Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire – become known as the ‘Triangle of Terror’.
The attacker and thief is dubbed ‘The Fox’, because of his strange and very particular habits. After breaking into someone’s home, he helps himself to food and drink, then uses his victim’s furniture and blankets to build a ‘lair’ to hide in. He removes all light bulbs then bides his time in the dark, flicking through his victims’ family photo albums by torchlight or watching their TV until he hears a key in the front door.
At its height there are three attacks in just one week. With no distinguishable features and a sinister mask, The Fox could be anyone – Bedfordshire Police has more than 5,000 suspects, and the list is growing with every attack.
Then, breakthrough evidence is found that helps to narrow down the list. The hunt for ‘The Fox’ gathers pace, before old-fashioned detective work finally leads officers to his door.
Series Producer/Director for ITN Productions, Chris Hackett, said: “This was one of the last big police manhunts before the introduction of DNA analysis. Officers were relying on old-fashioned detective work – boots on the ground, human intelligence, witnesses and fingerprints. We wanted to tell the story of the police officers desperate to find this man while also fearing for their own families.”
Dan Louw, Commissioning Editor at Channel 5, said: “There’s something primal about our fear that there’s someone lurking in our homes – in our place of safety. This film is a real-life horror movie, and a tribute to the brave victims who survived Fairley’s terror and the diligent cops who beat the odds to track him down.”
The Intruder: He’s Watching You From Within is produced by ITN Productions and has been commissioned for Channel 5 by Dan Louw, Commissioning Editor. It is produced and directed by Nathan Miller, series produced and directed by Chris Hackett. The series was edited by Donya Maguire at ITN Productions’ in-house post facility, ITN Post Production.
The Intruder: He’s Watching You From Within airs on Channel 5 on 8 April at 10pm.
Jon Creamer
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