A factual drama reconstructing the case of the serial killer nurse who preyed on the children in her care.
This single drama reconstructs the real-life case of nurse Beverly Allitt (Charlie Brooks). Beginning her career on the children’s ward of Grantham and Kesteven Hospital, Allitt initially seems like a dedicated, if slightly unusual, new staff member. A pattern soon emerges as children in her care suffer sudden and inexplicable medical emergencies, with several fatalities. As the number of incidents grows, Detective Inspector Stuart Clifton (Rob Dixon) is called in to investigate the alarming spike in infant deaths, slowly uncovering the horrifying truth that a killer is working on the ward. The film is framed by the narration of Helen Baxendale.
Broadcast as a stand-alone film, Angel of Death is a sober and chilling piece of factual drama. The production resists sensationalism, opting instead for a clinical, almost procedural style to recount Beverly Allitt’s 1991 killing spree. The teleplay by Kate Harrison focuses as much on the systemic bewilderment of hospital staff and the painstaking police investigation as it does on the killer herself. The use of Helen Baxendale’s dispassionate narration reinforces the docu-drama aesthetic, framing the events with a sense of journalistic detachment. For actress Charlie Brooks, the role was a significant departure from her long-running part in the soap opera EastEnders, and her performance is a study in quiet, inscrutable pathology rather than overt monstrousness.
Broadcast: BBC One, 1 Episode, 3 May 2006
Written by: Kate Harrison
Director: Cathy Elliott
Executive Producer: Simon Ford
Assistant Producer: Geraldine Lewis
Music: Steven Price
Main Cast: Charlie Brooks (Beverly Allitt), Helen Baxendale (Narrator), Ian Kelsey (David Crampton), Rob Dixon (Detective Inspector Stuart Clifton), Erica Rogers (Tracy Jobson), Abigail Fisher (Kath Crampton), Joanna Bending (Sue Phillips), Jonathan Oliver (Peter Phillips), Georgie Glen (Nurse Kate)
