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Limelight: An Eye for a Killing: An Eye for a Killing – 1. The Trial on Christmas Eve

Episode 1. The Trial on Christmas Eve

An Eye for a Killing – 1. The Trial on Christmas Eve

BBC Radio 4 - Limelight, An Eye for a Killing, An Eye for a Killing – 1. The Trial on Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve,1828: William Burke is on trial for murder at the High Court in Edinburgh.

Christmas Eve, 1828: William Burke is on trial for murder at the High Court in Edinburgh. In the witness box is his accuser - William Hare - Burke’s accomplice in 16 murders.

Welcome to hell.  The true story of Scotland’s notorious serial killers, Burke and Hare.

On Christmas Eve in 1828, William Burke is on trial for murder at the High Court in Edinburgh.  He’s accused of killing an old woman, Madgy Docherty.  In the witness box is his accuser  – William Hare - who is Burke’s accomplice in 16 murders.

What started these two former canal labourers on a mass killing spree?  In 1828, Edinburgh is a world-leading centre of medical training and dissection.  The anatomists need cadavers on which to demonstrate and practice – but the supply of bodies from hospitals and prisons isn’t enough to meet the demand.  Burke and Hare discover they can earn £10 by selling a dead body and decide they will lure victims to their lodging house and murder them.  

Powerful five-part drama-documentary series from BBC Radio 4 with bonus scenes on BBC Sounds.

Written and dramatised by Colin MacDonald.

Narrator ….. Jack Lowden
Burke ….. Gavin Mitchell
Hare ….. James Boal
John Fisher ….. Robert Jack
Mary Paterson ….. Helen Mackay
Janet Brown ….. Nicola Roy
Madgy Docherty ….. Maureen Carr
Jamie ….. Kyle Gardiner
Sheriff Tait ….. Ron Donachie 
Sir William Rae ….. Stuart McQuarrie 
Robert Knox ….. Simon Donaldson
Other parts played by the cast.

Producer/director:  Bruce Young

Limelight: An Eye for a Killing

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Welcome to hell. The true story of Scotland's notorious serial killers, Burke and Hare.

Jack Lowden tells the true story of Scotland's notorious serial killers, Burke and Hare. What started two former canal labourers on a mass killing spree in 19th-century Edinburgh?

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An Eye for a Killing – 1. The Trial on Christmas Eve

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