The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies engrosses, upsets and infuriates viewers again

The feature-length drama dramatised the month after retired schoolteacher Christopher Jefferies was arrested on suspicion of murdering one of the tenants, Joanna Yeates, in the flats he owned in Bristol. He was harassed and demonised by the tabloid press, but later released without charge.

Another of his tenants, Dutch engineer Vincent Tabak, was later convicted of Yeates’ murder.

Viewers were delighted that ITV was repeating the drama on Monday and Tuesday nights. Jason Watkins' "phenomenal" performance in particular drew applause.

https://twitter.com/laurenherrick/status/1295460233591033856

Superlatives abounded about Watkins' portrayal of Jefferies, with this poster writing that he gave "one of the most flawless performances in a drama of the past 15/20 years".

https://twitter.com/Inscarll/status/1295459474015166471

Most on social media commented on the travesty of his arrest and the "appalling" treatment he received.

https://twitter.com/flaneuse___/status/1295461921160822784

Jefferies himself told Radio Times that he felt dispassionate watching Watkins play him.

“Although I appear played by a character who looks remarkably like me, or who was made up to look remarkably like me, probably what comes across – but obviously I am not the best person to judge – is that this is somebody who represents or caricatures certain aspects of me, exaggerated and separated, as it were, from the whole, in order to make the point [writer] Peter Morgan wanted to make."

Another viewer tweeted: "The papers crucified Christopher Jefferies at the time, because he chose to be different."

https://twitter.com/HeatherShanksD1/status/1295461489416056841

There were some for whom the story had a personal connection.

https://twitter.com/StephenRW01/status/1295461707150753793

Many people on Twitter commented about how they, too, were guilty in judging Jefferies, based solely on the way he looked and the life he led.

https://twitter.com/Farrah_000/status/1295452295837167618

The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies was written by Peter Morgan – the creator of The Crown, Frost/Nixon and The Queen – and it won BAFTA TV Awards for Best Mini-series and Best Actor at the 2015 ceremony.

If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV guide.