Jed Mercurio is behind some of the UK’s most successful dramas, and now it’s being reported that he is developing a new series based on the story of the country’s most notorious child serial killer.
Nurse Lucy Letby was jailed for life last year after being convicted of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder six others, all of whom where in her care as a neonatal hospital nurse.
Now The Sun newspaper reports that Mercurio – who was a hospital doctor before he turned to screenwriting and previously created medical show Bodies before his hit shows Bodyguard and Line of Duty – is planning a new drama telling the shocking story. The newspaper speculates that Sophie Turner (formerly of Game of Thrones) and Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) are both in the frame for the lead role.
The Sun quotes an industry insider saying: “Jed sees this as an important story that should not just be chronicled in a drama but also explored.
“It aims to try to explain how her crimes could have gone on for so long and how others — particularly [hospital paediatrician and whistleblower] Dr Jayaram — tried to act when suspicions were raised.
“Bagging a high-profile name to play Letby would help give the show the attention it deserves too, but it’s not a role to take lightly.”
Letby is serving a life sentence for her crimes which took place between June 2015 and June 2016. Suspicions were raised following a high number of infant deaths which took place in the neonatal unit the Countess of Chester Hospital, shortly after Letby began working in the hospital’s intensive care unit. She was arrested and charged with eight counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder in November 2020.
Deadline has reached out to Jed Mercurio for comment.
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