Timothy Spall praised for 'performance of life time' in BBC true crime drama that airs again tonight

Viewers are in awe of Timothy Spall’s performance in a chilling new crime drama that will be broadcast tonight.

It’s a four-part show called The Sixth Commandment, and you’ll have to go back and watch one of them that aired last night, or you can watch it in full on BBC iPlayer, if you really don’t want to be bound by the schedule.

The show is based on a true story and stars Spall as Peter Farquhar, who was a former teacher that was conned by a student called Ben Field who was then abusive to two neighbours and murdered one.

The real life incident took place in the early 2010s and saw Field – played by Éanna Hardwicke – convince Farquhar that he was in love with him.

That meant that he moved into the ex-academic’s house, leading to the pair becoming ‘betrothed’ and convincing the older gentleman to make him the sole beneficiary from his will.

BBC

Then, Field started drugging Farquhar with hallucinogenic drugs, to the extent that a prosecutor later said that he ‘became a dribbling shambles of his former self’ as a result of the drugs.

Then, Field killed the 69-year-old in 2015, making it appear as if he had died from alcoholism.

Field then later targeted Farquhar’s neighbours, tricking another – Anne Moore-Martin - into a relationship.

The man then started playing tricks on her, writing messages on her mirror telling her to leave money to Field that he said were from God.

A relative eventually became very suspicious of this new man, reporting Field to the police, who eventually managed to link him to Farquhar’s murder.

Anyway, now Spall has stepped into the role of Farquhar, and his performance has drawn quite a bit of attention.

One person wrote: “How good was that? Timothy Spall is brilliant.”

“Captivating and frighteningly real,” said a second.

“Had to watch the entire thing. Now drained.

“And will watch again.

“Timothy Spall at his very best with a majestic cast and superb writing.”

BBC

A third said: “Wow, just watched the 1st episode of The Sixth Commandment on BBC1 and it is genius.

“Timothy Spall gives the performance of his life. So moving! A frightening story.”

And a fourth added: “That was the best first episode of a BBC drama that I’ve ever watched.

“Congratulations to Timothy Spall and the writers and everyone involved.”

There you have it – if you’re stuck for something to watch this evening, consider this a very high recommendation.

Be warned though, it’s not exactly a Disney movie or a buddy comedy.