TV Review: White House Farm (ITV) – Miniseries

The six-part ITV miniseries White House Farm is a factual drama based on the true story of a fateful night in August 1985 when five members of the same family were murdered at an Essex farmhouse, and the ensuing police investigation and court case that followed.

Rating:

White House Farm is the definition of a binge-worthy series, ending every episode on a new twist that has you eagerly awaiting for the story to continue. And that’s all down to the brilliant writing, performances, and direction, dramatising the horrifying true story exceptionally well.

Usually, I don’t like to binge-watch a TV series. I much prefer scheduling my week around them and having something to look forward to, rather than getting it all over with in one sitting. However, I didn’t want to wait a whole week to find out what would happen next with this series. The story was retold so well and sensitively that I would have stayed awake until the early hours to find out more.

Not knowing anything about the real-life 1985 case, I was so intrigued by what was going on. The adverts for the series made it obvious that things weren’t as straightforward as they originally seemed, and they even hinted at who was really to blame for the murders, but I remained open-minded and wanted to see where the episodes would lead me.

You can buy White House Farm on DVD here

For those who knew the facts already, White House Farm is still a great series to watch as it puts you inside the family meetings and inside the house itself, seeing what exactly went on, who was informing the police of what, and what members of the investigation team were pushing for the truth whilst others were more than willing to accept the obvious.

Whilst the story inside the house is what’s most shocking, it’s also incredibly interesting to see how the police handled (or mishandled) the case, and that’s something that we, as an audience, are really gripped by at the minute.

The brilliant cast all deliver, too. Freddie Fox is impeccable as the arrogant and emotionless Jeremy Bamber, whilst Mark Addy has us all rooting for his engaging and sympathetic detective. There’s a few other Game Of Thrones faces involved, as well, with Gemma Whelan, Mark Stanley, and Alfie Allen, who come together to make one great cast.