Dark Angel, ITV: Downton Abbey’s Joanne Froggatt stars as Victorian serial killer Mary Ann Cotton

Two-part drama tells the horrific true story of Durham's mass murderer
Ben Travis31 October 2016

If ghosts and ghouls don’t do it for you, ITV have a truly chilling Halloween drama lined up involving some real-life horror.

Dark Angel tells the story of Britain’s first known serial killer, Mary Ann Cotton, a Victorian woman who took advantage of the very lax life insurance policies of the day.

This two-parter dramatises Cotton’s misdeeds, across two 90-minute instalments.

Taking the lead role is Joanne Froggatt – and it’s a real change of pace from her Downton Abbey days, where she portrayed maid Anna Bates.

Best TV dramas 2016

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Cotton’s story begins with tragedy, as she returns to the North East of England with her husband Bill after they've lost four children. Sadly, that isn't where the hardship ends.

When Bill is injured and unable to work, things look even worse for the couple – especially as they’re expecting another child.

Cotton takes drastic action, and soon she’s the orchestrator of a string of arsenic deaths and love affairs, benefitting off insurance payments and raising few suspicions as her spree escalates.

With its genuinely horrific true story and grim subject matter, it goes without saying that Dark Angel won’t be for everyone – and it’s less spooky than seriously unsettling.

Still, for those who can stomach it, some will find this Sweeney Todd-esque concoction of Victorian misery and murder gripping.

ITV, 9pm

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