'Appropriate Adult' writer defends show

Neil McKay, the writer of Appropriate Adult, has defended ITV's decision to make the drama about serial killer Fred West.

The show, which has been criticised by Fred's daughter Anne Marie Davis, tells the story of Fred and Rosemary West's crimes from the point of view of trainee social worker Janet Leach - played by Emily Watson - who was manipulated by the murderer when assigned to his case.

"I work on the principle that those subjects that are the most difficult are those you should most look at," McKay told The Guardian. "That goes for all aspects of life - but it is one of the prime purposes of drama, and has been since the Greeks invented it.

"You hope that if you take a point of view that doesn't put you behind the murderer's eyes, that does away with the difficulty of what you wouldn't want to do, which is portray the crimes. It becomes about the consequences of the crime. It was not a journey we took lightly.

"He was murdering people for 25 years and that takes a lot of doing, especially when it's so close to home. What was the reason? West was genuinely charming and plausible and able to present a version of humanity that other people found really acceptable. That's the shape of our story really, that even after he was arrested he manipulated people to get what he wanted.

"You're left in no doubt that West is a psychopath. But I think it would have been a massive cop-out to portray him just as an evil serial killer. Everybody who came into contact with him - even after his arrest - was in some way charmed by him. It would have been a cop-out to avoid his charm. It's the point, really."

Dominic West, who plays Fred, has suffered from nightmares since working on the drama.

Appropriate Adult begins on ITV1 tomorrow, Sunday September 4, at 9pm.

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