Based on a true story, In Plain Sight stars Douglas Henshall as William Muncie, the policeman who tracked down serial killer Peter Manuel.
In the 1950s, Manuel brought terror to the streets of suburban Scotland. “It’s a very domestic drama and therein lies the real horror of it,” explains producer Gillian McNeill. “How terrified people were that such things could happen in quiet suburbia, which was aspirational after the Second World War. Things were getting better and for this ghastly thing to start happening in 1956 was terrifying.”
Even so, there are some interesting landmarks in Glasgow itself, including the bridge where Manuel got rid of his gun.
The Laurieston
“The Laurieston, which is on Bridge Street in Glasgow, doubled as The Stag pub in our story. It’s a pub that is just so gloriously period and has been used in innumerable other productions and films. It was a delight because the period detail hasn’t changed. It was really nice to find a pub that had that atmosphere.”
Sloans
“Sloans in The Argyll Arcade doubled as The Whitehall restaurant where Peter Manuel met William Watt and his lawyer Laurence Dowdall. Watt had been accused of the murder of his own family, and Peter Manuel kept saying he knew who did it and taunted this poor man. He arranged to have a meeting in The Whitehall and Watt’s lawyer went with him in order to corroborate anything that Peter Manuel might say to entrap himself, which he didn’t in the end.
“But that was an absolutely fabulous location: all mahogany and beautifully etched glass. It just looked like something that had remained in aspic for years. It’s very popular as a venue for private parties and there’s a very buzzy pub downstairs. ”
George V Bridge
“The George V Bridge over the River Clyde. It’s where Muncie talks to his informant about Peter Manuel. The river looks stunning and you see the reflections of the bridge and you can hear the trains going over. We added the sounds of boats as a reminder that the Clyde was very, very busy place at one point. I thought that location was gorgeous and so Glaswegian somehow: this beautiful bridge over a gorgeous river.”
South Portland Street bridge
“The suspension bridge is the only location in the entire three-parter that was the real location. It’s where Peter Manuel threw his gun over the bridge into the river, and that is exactly the spot where it happened.”
Read more:
- Who was Peter Manuel? The real story of In Plain Sight’s notorious serial killer
- In Plain Sight cast in full – who stars in the ITV drama and who they play
- In Plain Sight’s Martin Compston on becoming serial killer Peter Manuel
In Plain Sight is on tonight (7th June) on ITV at 9pm. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide or for more news head to our Drama hub.
from Radio Times https://ift.tt/3w3JxP0
