The currently untitled series will air on BBC One and iPlayer and will look at how Couzens was able to become a Metropolitan Police office
Sarah Everard was a 33-year-old marketing executive who lived in Brixton Hill(Image: Family Handout/PA Wire)
The BBC has announced it is to air a factual drama based on the story of Sarah Everard’s abduction and murder.
Ms Everard was abducted by serving police officer Wayne Couzens in March 2021, when she was walking home from a friend’s house in Clapham, south London, which prompted a national conversation about entrenched issues of misogyny and institutional failings within the police. The BBC says the drama’s production team are in contact with Ms Everard’s family, and that it will be “handled with sensitivity and respect”.
On the fifth anniversary of Sarah Everard‘s murder, her mother, Susan Everard, shared a poignant tribute celebrating her daughter’s “goodness” and vibrant spirit.
Jeff Pope, writer and executive producer, said: “Wayne Couzens should never have been a police officer, but opportunities to deny him that privilege were missed.
“That he was still a serving officer on the night of March 3 2021, after committing numerous sexual offences over a long period of time, was a tragedy waiting to happen, and the key question asked by this drama.”
The currently untitled series will air on BBC One and iPlayer and will look at how Couzens was able to become a Metropolitan Police officer, as well as how his offending was dismissed and evidence against him was not collected.
Lindsay Salt, director of BBC Drama, said: “Drama has a unique ability to sensitively and respectfully tackle real-life subjects and this series will explore the impact of this horrific crime, the misogyny and failings from within the Met Police and what lessons can be learnt.
“Award-winning writer Jeff Pope will treat this with the utmost care, helping to ensure that the issues that led to Sarah Everard’s murder remain in the public consciousness for years to come, whilst continuing to hold the police to account.”
The drama will be split into two hour-long parts, produced by Etta Pictures, with a release date yet to be announced.
Further information is expected to follow in due course.
MyLondon recently went to Clapham Common to speak with local women who still feel “endangered” and betrayed by the Metropolitan Police five years after the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer. Despite promises of reform following reports of institutional misogyny, residents express a deep lack of trust as data shows a 34% increase in police convictions for sexual offences since 2022.
MyLondon did a deep dive into what happened to Sarah and the enduring impact of her murder five years ago, highlighting how the tragedy exposed systemic failures within the Metropolitan Police and fuelled a national crisis of trust that persists despite the fact that 1,500 officers and staff have been removed from the force in the last three years.
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