A new crime documentary exploring the chain of events leading up to one of Manchester’s most prolific gangland killings aired last night.
Audiences tuned into the first episode of Crime + Investigation’s Killer Britain with Dermot Murnaghan – which is hosted and curated by one of the UK’s best-known journalists, and explores British murder stories filled with detective intrigue and chilling storylines – as it focussed on the life and death of Paul Massey.
Paul Massey – the man who came to be best-known by the swaggering moniker ‘Mr Big’ – was raised in the rough-and-tumble surroundings of Ordsall in the sixties, moving from rapscallion to crime kingpin during the dawn of Madchester.
His blood-splattered story – which many Mancunians will remember culminated in his murder in 2015 – sounds like it was lifted from the pages of an airport paperback, and has proven a popular subject for crime media over the years.
This new documentary however attempts to examine the story in a light never seen before – and even features an “alternative theory”.
ADVERTISEMENT
Murder stories are told with archive footage and key interviews from those closest to the case / Credit: Crime + Investigation
In each episode of the new five-part series – which looks at crimes that shook local communities throughout Britain and gripped the nation until the killer was brought to justice – Dermot is joined by former Detective Chief Inspector of the Metropolitan Police, Clive Driscoll as he recounts a case he has reported on or followed at close quarters over the years.
The five murder stories are told with archive footage and key interviews from those closest to the case – including by family members of the victims and the investigating officers who were first at the scene.
ADVERTISEMENT
Last night’s Manchester-centred episode features interviews with Mr Massey’s partner, Louise Lydiate, and his daughter, Lydia Massey.
The five-part series will continue on Crime + Investigation each weeknight this week.
The devastating Cumbria shootings of June 2010, the callous murder of vulnerable young adult Phillip Nicholson in Boscombe, Dorset in 2015, and the dramatic twists and turns of the murder of Carol Jarvis in West Lothian in 2009 will also be featured in episodes this week.
ADVERTISEMENT
You can find more information about the series here, and catch-up via Sky TV On Demand / Sky Go and Virgin TV On Demand.
Featured Image – BBC
TV & Showbiz
Mancs wanted to take part in a new series of the ‘hardest quiz show on TV’
Emily Sergeant
Call yourself a clever clogs? The BBC is currently looking for contestants to take part in what is widely considered the hardest quiz show on TV.
That’s right – Only Connect is back for another series on BBC Two.
Presented by Victoria Coren Mitchell and first broadcast all the way back in 2008, Only Connect takes TV quizzing to the next level, as it sees two teams compete against each other by finding connections between seemingly unrelated clues.
In this quiz show – which viewers have dubbed one of the most challenging there is – knowledge only takes you so far, as the ability to think laterally is also deemed ‘vitally important’.
A casting call for the upcoming 2027 series has been shared on the BBC website, with people from Greater Manchester encouraged to apply.
Mancs wanted to take part in a new series of the ‘hardest quiz show on TV’ / Credit: BBC
The casting call reads: “The popular BBC Two quiz show presented by Victoria Coren Mitchell returns for a new series in 2027.
“Only Connect is seeking teams of three players OR single applicants or teams of two looking for like-minded teammates to pool their combined wits to solve fiendish conundrums and vexing puzzles.
“This is the quiz series where, as in life itself, knowledge will only take you so far: patience and lateral thinking are also vital. It’s all about making connections between things which may appear, at first glance, not to be connected at all.”
Reckon you’ve got what it takes then? Applications are now open, and all applicants must be aged 18 or over and a resident in the UK or Channel Islands.
Channel 4 is looking for Mancs who think they can survive the apocalypse for a new TV series
Lydia Mastrolonardo
Have you always wanted to see how long you’d last in an apocalypse?
Well now’s your chance, as Apocalypse is potentially coming back to Channel 4 for a second series, with producers having put out a nationwide casting call for contestants willing to take part.
The casting call simply reads: “Do you think you have what it takes to survive the end of the world?”
Described as a dystopian series designed to test the creativity, resourcefulness, and resilience of our nation, Apocalypse sees players are pushed out of their comfort zones and put to the ultimate test.
In the series, ordinary people are tasked with surviving for 28 days in an abandoned city – used previously only for the military to practice urban warfare – with no food, running water, electricity or heat.
Produced by The Garden – which is part of ITV Studios – for Channel 4, the show’s creators are now calling on Mancs and people up and down the country with the ‘courage and ingenuity’ to compete, to get in touch and apply for the potential second series.
Does your mate always bang on after watching a post-apocalyptic film that they would’ve done things differently? Or is the news at the moment freaking you out and you want to give the end of the world a bit of a practice run? Either way, sign up, test that plan you’ve built in your head, and see if you’ve really got what it takes.
Applications are now open, and all you need to do is fill in a short application form and one of the production team will get back to you if they would like to proceed. Come on, let’s prove what Mancs are made of.
Emily Sergeant -
1st June 2021 
