ITVX announces The Playboy Bunny Murders
Published
ITVX announces The Playboy Bunny Murders
Marcel Theroux investigates unsolved 1970s killings for brand new true crime series by Soho Studios and Future Studios
A brand new ITVX premium true crime series will see Marcel Theroux investigate a set of disturbing murders of young women that have remained unsolved since the 1970s and reveal a dark and violent side hidden beneath the wealth and glamour of exclusive corners of London’s nightlife at that time.
The journalist and filmmaker’s long-standing interest in the brutal murders, which shocked the London he grew up in, led him to return to the killings of Eve Stratford, a Playboy Bunny who aspired to be a famous model, Lynda Farrow, a croupier with years of experience working in nighttime London, and Lynne Weedon, a schoolgirl whose whole life lay ahead of her.
This 2x60 series, produced by Soho Studios and Future Studios for ITVX, aims to unravel the mystery of the victims’ deaths, through unrivalled and exclusive access to friends, colleagues and relatives of the victims who provide an intimate insight into their lives and personalities as well as archive material from the time that will bring 1970s Mayfair to life.
Marcel’s hunt to shed light on who was responsible takes him back to that time, sees him try to track down police files, examine new breakthroughs and travel across the world in search of key figures who have been linked to the case as he pursues the truth that has remained hidden for decades.
Marcel said: “This is a story that has obsessed me for years. How could a serial killer kill multiple victims in 1970s London and remain unknown? What evidence was missed? What clues were the police of the time unable to make use of? As witnesses reach the ends of lives and memories fail, this might be the last chance to get justice for the three victims.”
The Playboy Bunny Murders is commissioned for ITV by Jo Clinton-Davis, Controller of Factual.
Jo said: “These horrific, unsolved murders of three young women continue to raise so many disturbing questions that have remained unanswered for the best part of half a century. Marcel Theroux’s investigation promises to illuminate the dark side of 1970s Mayfair, which lay beneath its allure of decadence, glamour, status and wealth, provide an insight into the young victims whose lives were taken from them and bring us closer to the truth.”
The series will be Executive Produced by Ian Lamarra for Soho Studios and John Farrar for Future Studios.
Melissa Mayne will Series Produce with Sam Miller as Series Director.
Ian Lamarra, Founder and Chief Creative Officer Soho Studios, said: “Marcel Theroux is a remarkable investigative journalist whose determination to immerse himself in a world and get to the bottom of a story is unparalleled. This series is one part cinematic journey back to seventies Soho and Mayfair and one part unfolding investigation. It will take viewers on a gripping journey toward a startling climax while hopefully providing important answers for the many affected. We are proud to be able to shine this premium documentary spotlight on a case which deserves that treatment.”
John Farrar, Chief Creative Officer Future Studios, said: “Marcel will take the audience on an astonishing journey through London at a time of enormous social change, from the West End’s most glamorous nightspots, to the crime scenes of three tragic murders. But these women are not just names or statistics. They were someone’s daughter, someone’s friend, someone’s partner. Marcel is not only on a mission to seek the truth but to shine a light on those lives that were tragically cut short.”
