When we hear that writer Sarah Phelps has a new TV project on the horizon, we’re immediately interested.

From her pitch-black Agatha Christie adaptations to her more recent take on the staggering true story of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll in A Very British Scandal, Phelps has brought us some of the most gripping TV dramas in recent memory.

Her next venture is The Sixth Commandment, a true crime series based on the events leading up to the 2015 murder of lecturer and novelist Peter Farquhar.

It’s a story that’s both chilling and tragic, but according to early reviews, the show manages to avoid the true crime pitfalls of focusing on the killer at the expense of giving the victims a voice. It was also made “in full cooperation” with the families of Farquhar and Ann Moore-Martin, who was also manipulated by the killer, the BBC have said.

The four-part series is set to air on BBC One later this month. In the meantime, here’s what you need to know about the show.

What is The Sixth Commandment about?

According to the BBC’s synopsis, The Sixth Commandment “tells the story of how the meeting of an inspirational teacher, Peter Farquhar, and a charismatic student, Ben Field, set the stage for one of the most complex and confounding criminal cases in recent memory”.

Farquhar, a lecturer in his late 60s, met Field when he was working at Buckingham University in 2011. Field would go on to manipulate Farquhar into believing that he had fallen in love with him, trying to persuade the academic to change his will, making the student the main beneficiary.

Farquhar died in 2015, and when Field was tried for his murder in 2019, the prosecution said that the younger man had been secretly giving him drugs and spiking his drinks, in an apparent bid to make his death appear to be accidental or suicide.

It also emerged that while the pair were living together, Farquhar experienced extended gaslighting, with Field hiding his things and even erasing contacts in his phone.

Field also struck up a relationship with Ann Moore-Martin, a former headmistress in her 80s, and tried to convince her to change her will to include him, too, writing messages “from God” in lipstick on her mirrors in an attempt to persuade her. When she eventually became aware of his manipulation tactics, she cut him out of her life.

In August 2019, Field was convicted of murdering Farquhar and was sentenced to a minimum of 36 years in prison.

According to the BBC, “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”. It will also explore “the devastating effect of isolation and loneliness” on both of them, as well as “celebrat[ing] both Peter and Ann’s lives as cherished mentors, much loved relatives and adored friends”.

You can watch the trailer below.

Who is in the cast of The Sixth Commandment?

Mr. Turner and Harry Potter star Timothy Spall will play Farquhar, with Last Tango In Halifax’s Anne Reid starring as Moore-Martin.

They are joined by Normal People’s Éanna Hardwicke as Field, The Split’s Annabel Scholey as Moore-Martin’s niece Ann-Marie and Unforgotten’s Sheila Hancock as Liz Zettl, a friend of Farquhar who is thought to be the oldest-ever witness in a murder trial, giving evidence at the age of 101.

Industry’s Conor MacNeill, The Split’s Ben Bailey Smith, Baptiste’s Adrian Rawlins and Summerland’s Amanda Root round out the cast.

What have the cast and creative team said about the show?

Speaking ahead of the show’s release, Phelps stressed that she “wouldn’t have been able to write this without the help, support and insights of Peter and Ann’s families”, adding that she is “so appreciative of the trust they placed in me to tell the stories of their loved ones”.

Spall, meanwhile, described the story as “essential”, and said that he hopes to do Farquhar justice, “which is the very least he deserves”.

When is The Sixth Commandment on TV?

The first episode is set to air on BBC One and iPlayer on 17 July, with the second instalment airing the following day. The final two parts will then follow on 24 and 25 July. 

Images: BBC