TV drama charts murder of Huddersfield woman by Suffolk Strangler

Apr 24 2010 Huddersfield Daily Examiner

THE harrowing tale of how a young Huddersfield woman became a murder victim goes out on TV tomorrow.

The murder of five young prostitutes in Ipswich in 2006 left the whole country in a state of shock. One of them was Anneli Alderton - a former Huddersfield vice girl, who had moved south to be with her family.

She and the four other victims were snatched by “Suffolk Strangler” Steven Wright and their bodies dumped.

The five women quickly became dehumanised victims in the tale of a monstrous serial killer.

Now the story of those victims and their families is to be told in a three-part BBC drama, which stars Sarah Lancashire.

Five Daughters charts the last days of Anneli, Tania Nicol, Gemma Adams, Annette Nicholls and Paula Clennell - and the grief suffered by their families.

The decision to make the films initially provoked outrage but the production team insisted the story simply had to be told.

Anneli, the mother of a young son, had lived in Primrose Hill and in Marsden before moving to Suffolk.

Now her mum Maire has told of the torment the family suffered, not only through the murders but also in the years leading up to it.

She had never given up trying to wean her daughter off drugs and off the streets.

“I’ve dragged her off the streets, she’s kicked and hit me.

“I kept having to move, the neighbours were complaining. She was in and out of prison, she always got caught, which was a relief.

“At least I knew where she was. She’d come off drugs in prison and I’d write to her every single day, just saying how wonderful the world is.

“She always knew she would come home. Turn up with a bunch of flowers from someone else’s garden”.

Maire told of how she feared for Anneli when the first murder was committed.

“The girls did look out for each other. They were like kids at the same college, really. Kids who did some hideous things but the thing about addiction is that it reduces all the problems of life to just one problem. How to get more”.

Actress Jaime Winstone, daughter of Hollywood star Ray, plays 24-year-old Alderton .

For her the mission was not to dredge up tragedy, but to give faces, stories and dignity to the five daughters and their families.

“They were real young women - they had aspirations and were going to go on and be young, beautiful women,” says the actress.

“It was a huge responsibility: You’re kind of living someone’s last moment and trying to do it justice - but also trying to keep it true and be real to the girls and their families.”