Jonny Owen and Vicky McClure investigate crimes that changed the face of Britain

In a unique historical crime series, actress Vicky McClure, and her historian husband, Jonny Owen, travel the UK exploring historic, culturally significant crimes that have changed the face of modern Britain.

Britain’s Murder Map sees the married couple investigate unsolved murders, miscarriages of justice and milestone cases that have changed the law. Speaking to experts, historians, police officers and victims’ families, they examine the lasting impact each murder has left on the community and why these cases still resonate today.

Joining Vicky and Jonny across their journey through these crimes are a range of contributors, including Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh, historians Dr Fern Riddell, Huw Williams, Phil Carradice, criminologist Professor David Wilson and more, as well as families of both victims and suspects.

Episode One – Burke and Hare
Tuesday 7th April
Vicky and Jonny head back to Edinburgh in 1828 to examine how the proliferation of private medical schools needing a fresh supply of corpses for dissection lead to the phenomenon of grave-robbing and the infamous murders of serial killers Burke and Hare. Features Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh, who took inspiration from the Burke and Hare case for his other works and historian Owen Dudley Edward, often considered the authority on the murders.

Episode Two – 10 Rillington Place
Tuesday 14th April
Vicky and Jonny examine what led to the biggest miscarriage of justice in British Criminal history; the execution of Welshman Timothy Evans in 1950 for crimes committed by John Christie. To understand more, Jonny visits his – and Timothy Evans’ – hometown of Merthyr Tydfil and together the duo meets experts who shed new light on the case, including Edward Fitzgerald CBE KC who represented the Evans family in the case of his wrongful execution.

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Episode Three – Bible John
Tuesday 21st April
This time Vicky and Jonny explore the relationship between the press and the police in 1960’s Glasgow as a manhunt was underway for a serial killer the press labelled ‘Bible John’. Vicky and Jonny examine the case, how the victims were treated by both the press and the Police, sitting down with people on both sides and examining theories about an explosive cover up. Actor Jonathan Watson (Two Doors Down, Only an Excuse?) discusses his former neighbour Joe Beattie, detective involved in the original enquiry.

Episode Four – Kelso Cochrane
Tuesday 28th April
Vicky and Jonny travel to Notting Hill in 1959 to examine how racial tensions in the area lead to Antiguan carpenter Kelso Cochrane’s murder. The duo explores why nobody was ever charged with his murder despite damning evidence and how Kelso’s death inspired change in the community with the Notting Hill Carnival. Dr Jak Beula, a cultural activist helping to memorialise Britain’s rich and diverse history, introduces the duo to the case, and DJ Norman Jay MBE breaks
own the iconic history behind Carnival.

Episode Five – Dr Crippen
Tuesday 5th May
This time Vicky and Jonny go back to North London in 1910 and ask new questions about the treatment of Edwardian women in the context of Cora Crippen, who was murdered by her husband Dr Crippen. True crime historian Lindsay Siviter and Dr Fern Riddell, a historian specialising in gender, sex and Victorian culture join the duo to ask: why is this domestic murder remembered as one of the most sensational cases in British criminal history?

Britain’s Murder Map with Vicky McClure and Jonny Owen starts Tuesday, April 7 at 9pm on Sky History and History Play.