DIGGING DEEP (WHITE HOUSE FARM)

Fred and Rose West, Colin Howell, the murders of Rhys Jones and Sian O'Callaghan - ITV has made a number of miniseries in recent years about infamous real crimes.

'Appropriate Adult', 'The Secret', 'Little Boy Blue' and 'A Confession' have all set a high bar for true crime dramas.

They've been the talk of factories, offices, cafes and pubs the length and breadth of the land, rekindling an interest in cases that once dominated the headlines.

So it is not surprising to see ITV tempted once more into dramatising one of Britain's most notorious cases - the murders in Essex of 61 year old June and Nevill Bamber, their 28 year old daughter Sheila Caffell and her six year old sons Nicholas and Daniel.

At the time the events unfolded in 1985, the case was extraordinarily dramatic, unfolding on TV news programmes like a soap opera. 

The horrific slaughter of five members of a family was initially treated by the police as a murder suicide but eventually they turned their attention to the Bambers' adopted son Jeremy.

'White House Farm' dramatises that change of focus. 

As ITV knows very well, turning real crimes into gripping television drama can be fraught with controversy.

Sensitivities over the cases tend to run high and dramatising events can lead to a fevered debate on whether it is right to shine a fresh spotlight on a tragedy of this nature.

How certain characters at the heart of the drama are portrayed can also ruffle feathers.

Since the first episode aired in January, 'White House Farm' has not been immune to criticism.

Some people have taken exception to Stephen Graham's Welsh accent.

Other viewers were appalled by a sex scene in the final episode.

And some people feel a morgue scene which showed three of the victims' bodies was prurient.

But while these decisions have undoubtedly caused controversy, the big talking point has been the drama's depiction of the police's poor handling of the investigation.

Kris Mrksa and Giula Sandler's six episode drama begins straightforwardly enough.

The writers and director Paul Whittington give us an insight into who the Bambers were.

We see Cressida Bonas' Sheila Caffell at a party and quickly learn of her struggles with her mental health and her separatiin from Mark Stanley's Colin Caffell.

Whike Colin drives Sheila and his two sons, Jude and Nate Barrowcliffe's Nicholas and Daniel Caffell to her parents farm, one of the boys complains their grandmother is too religious and makes them pray.

Sheila, Nicholas and Daniel are greeted at White House Farm by Nicholas Farrell's Nevill Bamber and Amanda Burton's June.

Whittington and his writers wisely do not recreate the murders that took place on the farm but rather dramatise the events surrounding it - the summoning of police to the scene by Freddie Fox's Jeremy Bamber, the grim discovery of the five bodies and the initial police enquiries.

With Sheila's corpse clutching a rifle, the police are mostly all too willing to be led by the nose. 

Based on the murder scene, Stephen Graham's DCI Thomas 'Taff' Jones rushes headlong into a murder suicide theory and is eager to wrap the case up quickly.

Mark Addy's DS Stan Jones is not so sure as he observes Jeremy Bamber and his girlfriend, Alexa Davies' Julia Mugford's behaviour.

What emerges in Mrksa and Sandler's drama is a fascinating tussle between an arrogant police chief and a diligent police duo who want to dig deeper than their superior will allow.

Jones and Scott Reid's DC Mick Clark refuse to be led by the nose and follow a gut instinct that tells them there is more to the murders than the simple narrative of a mentally disturbed daughter killing her sons, her parents and herself.

The more they dig, the more resistance they encounter from Taff who refuses to budge from his murder suicide theory.

When Gemma Whelan's cousin of Sheila's, Ann Eaton also casts doubt on the official story and raises suspicions about the motives of Jeremy Bamber, Taff is just as dismissive - calling her an amateur Miss Marple.

At risk to his own career and popularity within his colleagues, Stan continues to probe and exposes inconsistencies in Jeremy Bamber's account of what happened.

Viewers who dipped in and out of news coverage at the tine will be shocked at the ineptitude of the police investigation as portrayed in Mrksa and Sandler's drama.

The miniseries shos mattresses stained with the blood of the victims being discarded and burnt not long after the killings,.police roaming carelessly over the crime scene and a silencer being eventually discovered and handled by Ann Eaton and Oliver Dimsdale's Peter Eaton, only for Stan to collect it  cardboard and for a strand of hair inside it to disappear.

The drama makes no bones about its belief that Jeremy Bamber was responsible but is also fascinated with the office politics that hinders a thorough investigation 

Fox depicts Bamber as a cocky, money grabbing narcissist who ruthlessly manipulates those around him - especially Julia Mugford. 

He is good value as the chief villain, while Graham gamely takes on the role of a narrow minded and arrogant DCI and is as good as you expect.

The star turn, however, is Addy whose DS Jones stubbornly refuses to take the easy option and absorbs the body language of Bamber and Mugford during interrogations abd the funeral. 

Addy turns in a subtle performance - even if he and Graham look like characters from 'The Fast Show's 'The Fat Sweaty Coppers' 

Davies is also effective as Mugford, turning in a performance that will leave audiences feeling ambivalent as her character smarts at her boyfriend's flirtation with other, often older women and his friendship with Alfie Allen's Brett Collins.

'White House Farm' is a compelling, illuminating and shocking drama that leaves its viewers scrambling for more information about the horrific events and the characters at the heart of them.

Expect more real life crime dramas to wind up on ITV.

But expect more controversy too.

('White House Farm' was broadcast on ITV  from January 8-February 12, 2020)