Jack the Ripper: Tabloid Killer - Revealed, Wednesday 8pm, Five

Posted by Will Parkhouse

Our rating:

Kicking off with a shot of former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie saying: "A 120-year mystery has just been solved" and promising "startling new documentary evidence", this programme about the Jack the Ripper murders began with a kind of tabloid brashness wholly appropriate to its salacious subject matter.

With history buffs in coats and hats still getting their kicks taking late night Ripper tours round East London and theories about the killer's identity making the headlines to this day, "the legend of the Ripper," said Kelvin, "has an eternal fascination". Well, it doesn't, what with eternity being a bit more than 120 years, but he said it with such conviction – his questions don't seem to have question marks attached – you couldn't help but nod your head.

There was some fascinating delving into the rise of The Star newspaper, which launched in 1888, the same year as the murders took place. "No relation to today's Daily Star, this fledgling paper was desperate for sales," the voiceover told us, clearly not having seen a copy of today's Daily Star. With its "new journalism", characterised by a racy, narrative-driven style of writing, it championed the case, with editor TP O'Connor showing an outrageous disregard for truth, even by the standard of today's red-tops.

Of course, the reveal in Jack the Ripper: Tabloid Killer didn't actually relate to the identity of the killer, but in fact to the writer of the notorious "dear boss" letter, which coined his nickname. Sent to the Central News agency, the missive claimed, "I am down on whores and I shan't quit ripping them till I do get buckled" and had a strangely polite sign-off: "Yours truly, Jack the Ripper". Was it really written by the Ripper? No, claimed Kelvin, and the programme climaxed with a handwriting expert demonstrating the theory that the writer was none other than… a journalist from The Star!

And he would've gotten away with it if it hadn't been for you meddling documentary makers…

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Comments

[Will]

I agree, who carers.

[brownky4]

just another ejit yet again WHO thinks he's right.because he was an editor at the sun? who CARERS