Pembrokeshire Coastal Path Murders brought to life in new true crime ITV drama

Acclaimed Welsh actor Luke Evans takes the lead in true crime drama The Pembrokeshire Murders, a three-part mini-series depicting the pursuit of a cold-blooded serial killer.

The drama is adapted from the true crime book ‘The Pembrokeshire Murders’, written by Senior Investigating Officer Steve Wilkins and ITV news journalist Jonathan Hill. Luke Evans who has starred in ‘Dracula Untold’, ‘The Alienist’, and ‘The Great Train Robbery’ takes the role of Steve Wilkins.

Two unsolved double murders from the 1980s cast a shadow over the work of the Dyfed Powys police force. In 2006, newly promoted Detective Superintendent Steve Wilkins decided to reopen both cases.

Employing pioneering forensic methods, Wilkins and his handpicked team found microscopic DNA and fibres that potentially linked the murders to a string of burglaries committed in the 80s and 90s. The perpetrator of those robberies was nearing the end of his prison sentence, but if Steve Wilkins was right, he was also a serial killer… Could Steve and his team find enough forensic evidence to charge their suspect before he was released to potentially kill again?

The first episode airs on ITV at 9pm on Monday 11 January and sees Detective Superintendent Steve Wilkins, who has newly returned to Pembrokeshire, look into a brutal double murder which was never solved.

Known locally as the Coastal Path murders, he is shocked to discover links to two other notorious unsolved crimes. The prime suspect, a local man named John William Cooper, was imprisoned for a number of burglaries and robberies in 1998. If Steve is right, and Cooper is not just a murderer but a serial killer, the team must find the crucial evidence they need to charge him before he is granted parole.

The series also features Keith Allen as John Cooper, Owen Teale as Gerard Elias, Alexandria Riley as Ella Richards, Caroline Berry as Pat Cooper, Oliver Ryan as Andrew Cooper and David Fynn as ITV News journalist Jonathan Hill.

The Pembrokeshire Murders starts on ITV at 9pm on Monday 11 January.

(Lead image: ITV)