‘Dark’ ITV true crime drama quietly added to Netflix soars up chart

Netflix viewers are rushing to watch the series Appropriate Adult (Picture: ITV/ Rex/ Shutterstock)

Netflix viewers are bingeing a crime drama detailing the horrific crimes of serial killers Fred and Rose West.

The harrowing Netflix documentary Fred & Rose West: A British Horror Story has brought renewed interest to the frightening serial killer case that gripped headlines in the 90s.

Viewers are now turning to a dramatisation of the grim case, Appropriate Adult, which was recently added to Netflix and is now ranking in the streaming platform’s top 10.

The two-part mini series focuses on how Fred and Rose West were brought to justice, first airing on ITV in 2011.

As the opening credits state: ‘This is a true story. What follows is based on extensive research, interviews and published accounts. Some scenes have been created for the purposes of dramatisation.’

The drama follows Gloucester social worker Janet Leach (Emily Watson) and her pivotal role in discovering the bodies of women the couple had killed and buried on their property.

It follows a social work who was assigned to act as serial killer Fred West’s ‘appropriate adult’ (Picture: ITV/ Rex/ Shutterstock) Fred and Rose West murdered 12 people, including one of their own daughters (Picture: Shutterstock)

Dominic West plays Fred West in the drama, while Mr Bates vs The Post Office star Monica Dolan plays his wife Rose. Across the two episodes, we follow Fred’s arrest, his subsequent suicide and the lifetime conviction of Rose.

West went on to win the Best Actor Bafta for his turn in the chilling drama, while Emily Watson took home the Best Actress gong.

Leach became Fred West’s ‘appropriate adult’ – hence the show’s title – and sat in on police interviews with him.

During these interviews, he revealed in terrifying detail the horrors his victims had faced. Police officers tapped Leach in order to avoid any future insinuation Fred West had not understood the charges he was under investigation for. 

The drama stars Emily Watson and Dominic West (Picture: ITV/ Rex/ Shutterstock) The drama has entered Netflix’s top 10 ranking of TV (Picture: ITV/ Rex/ Shutterstock)

The Crown star said at the time that inhabiting the serial killer was so difficult it gave him nightmares. ‘I have this recurring dream where I’m perched on a wall and Fred West is trying to grab me and pull me down,’ he told the BBC.

He also defended the drama against accusations it would prove triggering to the victims’ families. ‘I think it’s effective without being sensational in any way,’ he continued.

‘Thousands of people still go missing in this country every year and are never found.

‘Fred West preyed on runaways without being caught for 25 years. We should not forget this case, because there could be others like him.

Netflix subscribers have been returning to the drama since the true crime documentary dropped on the streaming service – and it now ranks fifth on the platform’s ranking of top TV.

Some viewers took issue with the apparent sympathetic portrayal of Fred West (Picture: ITV/ Rex/ Shutterstock)

Sharing their reviews on IMDB, @truecrimeallthetime said the drama is ‘seriously gripping’, writing: ‘Excellent dramatisation of this deeply disturbing case. Respectfully done with classy performances and simple but effective direction.’

@Aimeemcdonald-55532 wrote it is ‘definitely a must-see’, adding: ‘I was very moved by this dramatisation. Brilliant acting which left me with chills. I had to keep reminding myself that these events actually happened, because it’s so stomach churning.’

However, not everyone was taken with the dramatisation as @rupie had issues with the apparent sympathetic portrayal of Fred West. They wrote: ‘It was repellent – as well as incomprehensible – to watch Leach’s developing interest and fascination with Fred West. 

‘Anyone watching this movie should first do some Googling to find out the details of what Fred and Rosemary West perpetrated. If anyone deserves to be called human monsters, it is this pair. In the light of this knowledge, the script’s clear intention – to me anyway – to actually make West into a figure of sympathy is disgusting.’

Appropriate Adult is available to stream on Netflix.

This article was originally published on May 27, 2025.

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