I WATCHED episode one of Rillington Place on BBC 1 on Tuesday evening wondering if it could compete with the film version when Richard Attenborough acted the role of John Reginald Halliday Christie, the serial killer who killed at least eight women at No. 10 in that road.

Attenborough was the embodiment of evil when I saw the film at the cinema.

Tim Roth made an equally chilling Christie in the TV drama.

The darkness and dinginess of wartime London came across very well in the TV tale. The poverty of the building was also captured brilliantly.

Such a pity that the sound quality was lacking. I was thinking it was just my lugs that were causing the bother but lots of complaints about the poor sound have been forthcoming.

Christie himself had been gassed in WW One and had problems with his speech. The film was adapted from the book Ten Rillington Place written by Ludovic Kennedy.

John Hurt played the sad Timothy Evens in the film and received a Best Supporting Actor BAFTA and rightly so.

Tim Roth has certainly gone off a bit from when he was giving Jessica Lange ‘what fettle’ in Rob Roy. I am looking forward to the next two episodes.

Quite riveting but also quite depressing.

Malcolm Rolling, Durham