Whitechapel Information

Whitechapel is a British television drama series produced by Carnival Films, in which detectives in London's Whitechapel district deal with murders which replicate historical crimes. The first series was first broadcast in the UK on 2 February 2009 and depicted the search for a modern copycat killer replicating the murders of Jack the Ripper.

A second series was commissioned by ITV in September 2009 with the focus on the Kray twins. The first episode of this second series was broadcast on 11 October 2010.

A third series was commissioned by ITV in March 2011, which was extended to six episodes as three two-part stories.

The first and second series were broadcast in the United States on six consecutive Wednesday evenings beginning 26 October 2011 on the BBC America cable network. The third was broadcast in the US starting on Wednesday 28 March 2012, also on BBC America.

On 24 September 2012, ITV renewed Whitechapel for a fourth series consisting of 6 episodes. The first episode was broadcast on 4 September 2013.

One 16 November 2013, Rupert Penry Jones confirmed that ITV had decided not to recommission the show and cancelled it.

Production

The first season was written by Ben Court and Caroline Ip. ITV Director of Drama Laura Mackie said "Whitechapel is a very modern take on the detective genre which combines the Victorian intrigue of the original case with the atmospheric backdrop of a contemporary East End of London. This is not simply about bloodthirstily recreating the Ripper murders, but rather focusing on the three main characters at the heart of the story and the black humour that binds the team together."

Reception

Whitechapel debuted on 2 February 2009 at 9pm with 8.13 million viewers on the overnight ratings. Series one received positive reviews, and holds a Metacritic score of 75 out of 100, indicating "generally favourable" reviews.

A review in the Leicester Mercury said that it was "Life on Mars, without the time-travel" adding "what Whitechapel lacked in originality, it more than made up for with atmosphere and enthusiasm." After Episode 2 was broadcast on 9 February, Andrew Billen in The Times said that he had warmed to it more and more, adding, "slowly, the show is making Ripperologists of us all, as Jack's 'canonical' murders are separated from the ones he actually committed. It is all in the worst possible taste and bloody good fun." However, The Daily Telegraph was less impressed, writing "The premise was feeble, the script imbecilic, the acting on autopilot, the direction lacking in any glimmer of tension."

Series two received favourable reviews, and holds a Metacritic score of 69 out of 100, indicating "generally favourable" reviews.

Main cast

Character name	Actor	Profile	First appearance	Last appearance
DI Joseph Chandler	Rupert Penry-Jones	A fast-track, media-conscious Detective Inspector. His first big murder case deals with a copycat killer imitating Jack the Ripper. Suffers with OCD which on occasions has hindered and helped him in solving cases.	1.1	N/A
DS Ray Miles	Phil Davis	Veteran police officer who has a low tolerance for time-wasters.	1.1	N/A
Edward Buchan	Steve Pemberton	Ripperologist who offers his aid to Chandler. As a young man, he made a documentary about the Kray twins.	1.1	N/A
Fitzgerald	Christopher Fulford	Miles' right-hand man. Formerly a DC, he leaked case details of the Ripper to the press; in Series 2, we learn that he has been demoted to PC.	1.1	2.2
DC Sanders	Johnny Harris	Member of Chandler's team.	1.1	1.3
DC Emerson Kent	Sam Stockman	Youngest member of the team.	1.1	N/A
DC John McCormack	George Rossi	Member of Chandler's team. He commits suicide during the Kray case after being forced to betray his team.	1.1	2.3
Commander Anderson	Alex Jennings	Chandler's boss and mentor.	1.1	2.3
Dr Caroline Llewellyn	Claire Rushbrook	Police pathologist.	1.1	N/A
DC Finlay Mansell	Ben Bishop	Joins Chandler's team in Series 2.	2.1	N/A
DC Megan Riley	Hannah Walters	Experienced member of the team.	3.1	N/A

Episode list

Series 1 (2009)

• Paul Hickey as Dr David Cohen, a doctor at the local hospital.
• Sally Leonard as Frances Coles, one of the intended murder victims.
• Simon Tcherniak as Dr George Phillips, Frances' boyfriend.
• Branko Tomovi? as Antoni Pricha, one of the main suspects in the new Jack the Ripper case.
• Sophie Stanton as Mary Bousefield, a police officer and victim of the new Ripper.
• Jane Riley as Sarah Smith, a key witness in the enquiry.
• Ben Loyd-Holmes as Private John Leary, the first suspect in the Ripper case.

Episode	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original airdate	Viewers (millions)

Series 2 (2010)

• Peter Serafinowicz as DCI Cazenove, the corrupt Head of the Organised Crime Division.
• Craig Parkinson as Jimmy and Johnny Kray, the heirs to the legacy of the original Kray twins
• Chrissie Cotterill as Angie Brooks, mother of the Kray twins.
• Andrew Tiernan as Steven Dukes, a local gangster who help the Krays rise to power.

Episode	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original airdate	Viewing Figures (millions) Sourced by BARB; figures include ITV1 HD

Series 3 (2012)

Whitechapel was commissioned for a third series in March 2011. Unlike the previous two series, which were each based on a single event, the new series was split into three separate 2-part stories. The new six-episode season was shown in 2012 in its usual ITV time slot. Rupert Penry-Jones, Phil Davis and Steve Pemberton resumed their roles in the programme.

• Christina Chong as Lizzie Pepper (forensics)
• David Schneider as Marcus Salter
• Camilla Power as DI Mina Norroy
• Paul Chequer as Nathan Merceron
• Lydia Leonard as Morgan Lamb
• Alistair Petrie as Dr. Simon Mortlake

Episode	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original airdate	Viewing Figures (millions) Sourced by BARB; includes ITV1 HD and ITV1 +1

Series 4 (2013)

• Daisy Beaumont as Stella Knight
• David Gant as Alexander Zukanov
• Brian Protheroe as Crispin Wingfield

Episode	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original airdate	Viewing Figures (millions) Sourced by BARB and Broadcast magazine; includes ITV HD and ITV +1