Maxine

I felt very uncomfortable while watching this ,well aware of the backlash that channel 5 were getting .

It was so hard to look at them both , without having that sick feeling that you get when you are repulsed by someone .

Perhaps it will help to keep us all reminded of the fact that there are evil people in this world , disguised in everyday jobs , in our towns and communities , and how easy it can sometimes be for them to slip under the radar.

Not for one minute ,did I find this in any way an easy watch , as I imagine everybody else did not either .

Jemma Carlton played the role very well,, a brave undertaking considering that she was a newcomer .

I did not like a lot of the scenes involving the journalists , it made me feel angry that tragedies like this are handled so insensitively by the press. For them, it's all about selling newspapers .

But , that is the reality of it .

Whether , this drama should have been made or not , I really cannot say, but I would imagine that everbody who watched it felt anger towards those two, and upset , and brokenhearted for Holly and Jessica's families.

Maxine Carr and Ian Huntley, two names that conjure up many feelings, mainly loathing, repulsion and hatred.

This three part series tells the story of the pair, giving some background to their toxic relationship, and the failings in authority that allowed Huntley to land the job of a school caretaker.

I wasn't sure I was going to be able to watch it, I remember the case very well, such a tragedy, but it was very well and sensitively handled I thought.

Without a doubt this is one of the best dramas to come from Channel five, in terms of acting and direction, credit to the production team.

Terrific acting, amazing to see that this was a first TV role for Jemma Carlton, who perfectly portrayed Card, that scene of the TV interview was chillingly authentic. Scott Reid was terrific as Huntley also.

If you are sensitive, if advise a little caution, as it's of course a harrowing, and deeply upsetting story.

8/10.

Should a drama series be made about such a terrible crime? This will undoubtedly be a divisive piece of television and many will argue it's inappropriate. On the other hand there are exploitative true crime documentaries on TV every night which attract an audience.

To be fair to the makers they chose to frame the story through the eyes of Maxine Carr rather than her abhorrent partner.

As a drama it was well made and directed, the script was good and the two central performances were excellent. Its hard to believe this was Jemma Carlton's first major role playing Maxine, she surely has a great career in front of her. It was better than I expected all round.

Personally I didn't find it disrespectful the way it was told, but I can easily understand why others would disagree or avoid watching.

Very difficult subject matter. It is hard to believe it is 20 years since this story dominated the news.

When the shock of the Huntley/Carr complicity finally came to light it was a shock to all those that had followed the story as the perpetrators were by now know to the public.

The thing about Huntley was he was believable and had an almost baby face of innocence.

This is where I feel the drama has got it wrong. The Huntley character is too hard looking with severe died black hair. In the drama he looked suspicious throughout which was not the case in real life.

However, the whole event has been dramatized well. Obviously the Huntley/Carr dialogue behind closed doors is a matter for conjecture, but they are word perfect in their public speaking.

Being Channel 5 I had expected it to miss the mark, but apart the casting of Huntley it was dramatized very well.

As contemporary dramas go we are force fed endless murder and serial killer stories, but the reality puts these into some sort of perspective.

For those of us who remember the story of Holly and Jessica, this story remains harrowing and uncomfortable. The script and acting reflects the drama (albeit too much in some areas) but I find it difficult to see the portrayal of the "human" side of the main subjects, particularly Huntley.

While it might seem nitpicky, I was distracted from the story by the lack of research into the era in which the story is set. For example, shop logos not reflecting how they would have looked in 2002, but rather how they are now. Or even the aerial view of Grimsby showing the locally notorious grey blocked paving which wasn't installed until 2014. It comes across as lazy research and is honestly a great reminder of how you can get everything you want out of this show from reading up on Wikipedia.