The Ripper Hoaxer: Wearside Jack (C4) Dan Cruickshank's Marvels Of The Modern Age (BBC2)
Seeing him, it's hard to believe that a unemployed alcoholic living in drunken squalor in a Sunderland housing estate was responsible for one of the greatest criminal hoaxes Britain has ever seen.
But John Humble's phone calls and letters claiming to be the Yorkshire Ripper led police in the wrong direction, leaving real murderer Peter Sutcliffe free to continue his killing spree.
One of the most chilling moments of The Ripper Hoaxer: Wearside Jack came at the end on being told that, since being sentenced for perverting the cause of justice, Humble has written to Sutcliffe, who's serving a life sentence for the murder of 13 women. Sutcliffe replied, writing: "You could've saved those three women, John... you have blood on your hands... we have much to talk about...".
The mystery of why Humble pretended to be the killer persists. He told police, "I don't know why I done it. I must have been daft." After the Ripper claimed his 13th victim, Humble, perhaps guilty that his false confessions had allowed Sutcliffe to continue killing, contacted the police to confess. It was one of many calls they were receiving and wasn't taken seriously.
He tried to commit suicide by throwing himself off Wearmouth Bridge. A passing boat broke his 100ft fall and he was fished out of the water by a police launch. He was taken to a police station in Sunderland but said nothing about being the hoaxer and was sent home.
Whatever his motive, Humble was obsessed with the Yorkshire Ripper's murders, which had begun in 1975. Armed with cuttings and a grudge against police after serving a prison sentence for assaulting a police officer, he fooled the investigation with letters and tapes into thinking the Ripper came from Wearside.
The programme painstakingly took us through the investigation using archive footage, reconstructions and interviews with police officers and others involved.
Humble's fake confessions eventually caused police to switch their attention to Sunderland, leaving Sutcliffe free to strike three more times. Only a technological breakthrough 25 years later enabled them to crack the identity of Wearside Jack. They obtained DNA from an envelope and matched it with Humble's DNA profile on file.
Dan Cruickshank seems to present a new series every other week. His latest, Marvels Of The Modern World, featured a mass-produced "white box" house, American skyscrapers, collective housing in Communist Russia and multi-coloured housing in 1930s Berlin as he explored the "manifesto of modernism".
Interesting as some of it was, I couldn't help feeling that the presenter was more enthusiastic about the subject than I was.
Beyond Reasonable Doubt, Darlington Civic Theatre
IT isn't beyond reasonable doubt that the audience feels decidedly uncomfortable viewing a play by disgraced politician Jeffrey Archer, while suffering similar agonies over the Welsh accent adopted by Leslie 'Dirty Den' Grantham as the unlikely Sir David Metcalfe QC.
Even so the actor with a reputation akin to the author's, makes a good fist of bringing Sir David to life in this slow-moving, but poignant, tale of a top defence barrister on trial for killing his ailing wealthy wife.
Simon Ward reprises his Old Bailey best, as seen frequently in BBC1's Judge John Deed, as prosecuting counsel Anthony Blair-Booth in the first half scenes of a slightly stilted trial where Archer cleverly uses the audience as the jury.
The second half engages our minds much more closely. Grantham is joined by Alexandra Bastedo as Lady Metcalfe as the pair act out the tragedy of a loving couple coping with a limited life together. Now we see human events and prejudices fleshing out the court case where housekeeper Mrs Rogers (Maggie Stables) ignores her employers' real relationship and builds her dislike of Sir David to the level of murder suspect.
The final twist when it comes is entirely predictable as we are updated by events after the trial's outcome.
The biggest laugh of the night arrives as Archer puts the words "I told the truth by the standards of any politician" in the mouth of Grantham. This was written in 1987 and there's been far more shenanigans surrounding Westminster than even Mr Archer could have dreamt of since then.
Runs until Saturday
Box Office: (01325) 486 555
Viv Hardwick
I Can't Stop Loving You
Forum Theatre, Billingham
AN outstanding live band, superb dancers and talented singers celebrate the music and genius of Ray Charles in this sensational show. Hit after hit is accompanied by voiceovers explaining how Ray, born into poverty and blind by the age of seven, changed the face of popular music by mixing gospel with blues, country and rock.
From Georgia on My Mind through to Let the Good Times Roll, it's an eclectic mix of soulful emotion and energy-packed rock and roll.
Powerful voices from singers including Kym Mazelle showcase Ray Charles' music perfectly and also give a new twist to well-known Beatles classics such as Eleanor Rigby. There's also a gospel version of John Lennon's Imagine.
The dancers provide entertainment in equal amounts with a stunning visual feast, in particular the natural energy and poise of Jo Dyce. By the finale, the dancers' enthusiasm has nearly everyone in the audience on their feet.
Runs until Saturday
Box Office: (01642) 552663
Michelle Hedger
Published: ??/??/2004
