Star defends Ripper Street over violent scenes

Star defends Ripper Street over violent scenes
Star defends Ripper Street over violent scenes (Image credit: BBC/Tiger Aspect)

Matthew MacFadyen has defended Ripper Street following complaints the BBC One drama is too violent. The Sun said that nearly 90 viewers complained about the TV drama, which is set in east London in the Jack the Ripper era. Former Spooks star Matthew, who plays detective inspector Edmund Reid, told The Sun: "I think people are fascinated by Victorian attitudes towards sex and society. "And back then in the East End there was enormous poverty... It was the Ripper murders that brought to light the dire poverty in the East End. They showed them up to a greater audience." Matthew also heaped praise on the show's writers for bucking the trend by not making his character a cliched cynical TV detective. The BBC recently defended the drama following complaints it was too violent for its timeslot. "Ripper Street is a strong and gritty series set in the east end of London at the end of the 19th Century and we have tried to be true to the period," the broadcaster said. "We scheduled it after the 9pm watershed and made sure the content was widely publicised as well as giving a warning before each episode as necessary so the audience would know what to expect."

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.