As the finale of BBC drama Four Lives aired last night (5 January) viewers expressed their frustration and criticised the police for their failed investigation. You can watch the trailer here:
The series followers Stephen Port - dubbed the 'Grindr killer' - who murdered four men before being given a life sentence in 2016.
An inquest last year found that the Met police's failings 'probably' contributed to the deaths of three of the four victims.
The 46-year-old drugged his victims - Anthony Walgate, 23, Gabriel Kovari, 22, Daniel Whitworth, 21, and Jack Taylor, 25 - before raping and killing them. He then dumped their bodies close to where he lived in London.
Now, BBC drama Four Lives explores the widely-criticised police investigation as it sheds new light on this story by telling it from the point of view of the families of Stephen Port's victims, focusing on their fight to uncover the truth about what had happened.
Stephen Merchant portrays the serial killer and his performance has left viewers feeling sickened with many saying their blood was 'boiling' as they learned all about the case.
Taking to social media to express their anger, one viewer wrote: "Cannot even describe the level of anger these so-called 'police officers' are causing me whilst watching Four Lives. Blood is boiling!"
Another added: "Watching Four Lives is making my blood boil. Those poor families. The assumptions made by the police due to the victims being gay."
A third said: "I thought #FourLives was excellent tonight. Not just an upsetting watch, but I also felt anger. Especially after that final scene. Impressed by @StephenMerchant’s understated and chilling performance."
Another commented: "I have never seen the BBC go in so strongly as in part 3 of Four Lives. The Met absolutely have the blood of three young men on their hands because of institutional homophobia. It’s outrageous that they got away with it."
Praising Merchant's performance, another said: "Watched Four Lives in one fell swoop last night and Stephen Merchant’s performance gave me actual nightmares. So heartbreaking - a brilliant watch."
All episodes of the series are available to watch on the BBC iPlayer now.
Featured Image Credit: BBCTopics: BBC, TV and Film
Rebecca Shepherd