Rillington Place (BBC1, 9pm)

THIS could never be a whodunnit, but John Reginald Christie sends a shiver down the spine because he killed eight women, including his wife, and the wife and child of neighbour Timothy Evans, and hid the bodies in the walls, floor and yard of his Notting Hill home.

The story was last dramatised in 1971 with Richard Attenborough as Christie, and this time the role is taken by Tim Roth who did a stack of research into the gory role. "The production company sent me a vast amount of articles that had been written about Christie, transcripts of the trial, autopsy reports, statements and a lot of pictorial evidence. All all this came trickling through, I did think, 'My God, what have I got into'," Roth told Radio Times.

The tale is told from three points of view – his wife, Ethel, and Evans, who was wrongly convicted of killing his wife Beryl and their 13-month-old child Geraldine, and that of Christie. There was a national outcry when the truth emerged, which led to the end of capital punishment. Samantha Morton, Nico Mirallegro and Jodie Comer also take crucial roles in this chilling three-part drama.

The most difficult area of filming was the showing of violence towards women. "There were some tough scenes; we went as far as you can go. I don't think we dealt with the necrophilia aspect, but we did have Christie accumulating women in the cupboard behind his wall and we showed what he did to get them there. He had this very hushed tone – one of the newspaper headlines at the time was The Whispering Killer – but he also had that comforting Yorkshire accent."

Christie was hanged on July 15, 1953 despite pleading "not guilty by reason of insanity". Timothy Evans was granted a posthumous royal pardon in 1966, but his conviction has yet to be formally quashed.

The Secret Life of 5 Year Olds (C4, 8pm)

FOR the past two weeks we've followed the progress of a group of four-year-old children, but now attention turns to those who are roughly 12 months older. There's a marked difference between the two classes – the first appeared to be mostly shy and unsure of themselves, but this time, the ten children involved are more confident. They're also concerned with asserting their independence and exploring the adult world around them. It quickly becomes clear that charismatic Jude is the dominant personality, and he even begins a fledgling romance with little Ellie – but their bond is put to the test when they are given a crying, lifelike baby doll to take care of. Meanwhile, nurturing Ellie-May takes Daisy, who has cerebral palsy, under her wing, but it's Daisy who turns out to have the greater imagination and may have the ability to influence how the other children play.

Life on the Psych Ward (C4, 9pm)

LONDON'S Bethlem Royal Hospital is home to more than 100 patients, many of who have committed serious crimes but are considered too mentally disordered to be in prison. This documentary focuses on Tony, a paranoid schizophrenic with a history of violence, James, who is serving a life sentence for a violent stabbing in prison, and John, another lifer, who was found guilty of attempted murder. Cameras follow the three men coming to terms with the trauma they have caused as they take their first steps outside the hospital.

The Choir: Gareth's Best in Britain (BBC2, 9pm)

IT'S the penultimate week of the competition, which means we're at the semi-final stage, and the four groups Gareth Malone has picked from across the country are brought together for the first time at boot camp, before they go head-to-head to stay in the contest. They'll face intensive mentoring, from Gareth and top vocal and performance coaches, as part of a challenge designed to target and overcome their musical weaknesses. Eventually the jury's votes decide which group will go through to the Grand Final.

Viv Hardwick