An ITV Drama based on the true story of the arrest and conviction of Pembrokeshire serial killer John William Cooper took home two Welsh BAFTAs last night, Sunday October 24.
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) in Wales, BAFTA Cymru announced the winners of the 30th British Academy Cymru Awards in a star-studded online ceremony.
The awards honour excellence in broadcasting and production within film and television in Wales and by the Welsh in UK productions and serve to inspire the next generation of creative talent.
The Pembrokeshire Murders collected the award for Best Television Drama while director Marc Evans also won Best Director: Fiction, making it the eighth win of his career.
The Pembrokeshire Murders starred Hollywood actor Luke Evans and presented the story of the investigations into the murders and crimes committed by John William Cooper - named the Bullseye Killer after his appearance on the TV show of the same name
Adapted from the true crime book The Pembrokeshire Murders: Catching the Bullseye Killer (2012) written by senior investigating officer Steve Wilkins and ITV news journalist Jonathan Hill, the show portrayed the pursuit of John Cooper and the collection of forensic evidence that led to his life sentencing in 2011.
Welsh-born Hollywood star, Luke Evans, played SIO Steve Wilkins, alongside David Flynn as ITV Journalist Jonathan Hill, and Keith Allen as John Cooper.
“I am very proud of the work we all did on the Pembrokeshire murders,” said Marc Evans in his acceptance speech.
As well as thanking the script writer, cast and crew he also thanked SIO Steve Wilkins and journalist Jonathan Hill ‘for allowing us to tell their story and for being great champions and guardians of the real people involved and the real victims.”
Simon Heath, executive producer said all involved felt ‘greatly honoured’ to win the Best Television Drama award.
“It is a testimony to the brilliant team who made the show,” he said.
He thanked the ‘brilliant home grown Welsh cast’ as well as the members of the writing and production team who ‘handled the dark and difficult story with great sensitivity’.
John William Cooper committed two double murders in the 1980s. First, siblings Richard and Helen Thomas were fatally shot inside their Milford Haven home, Scoveston Manor, before it was burned down by the killer in 1985.
Four years later, in 1989, Oxfordshire couple, Pete and Gwenda Dixon, were enjoying their annual Little Haven holiday when they were robbed and shot on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
Both double murders remained unsolved until senior investigating officer Steve Wilkins reopened them in 2006 under the ground-breaking Operation Ottawa.
The Western Telegraph provided a blow-by-blow account of the murder trial which gripped the nation, which can be read here.
John Cooper was also convicted for sexual assault and attempted robbery, as well as for rape following an attack on a young girl on Milford Haven’s Mount Estate in March of 1996.
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