Traces; Devil’s Advocate; Secrets of the Krays

“Written by Amelia Bullmore, from an idea by crime queen Val McDermid, Traces is a unique mix of the technical and the emotional. Characters are either squinting into a microscope at a tell-tale speck of evidence, or gazing in romantic turmoil at the horizon. For Freeview users, the frustration is that Alibi is a subscription channel. But BBC1 snapped up the previous series of Traces, and we can only hope these new instalments air soon, too.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“The episode ended with a literal bombshell as a second explosion rocked Dundee. It added up to a gripping mix of family drama and police procedural. Those who tuned in to see what Martin Compston did next will have been glad they went to the effort.”
Ed Power, The i

“The documentary covers a lot of ground: from Di Stefano’s childhood in Petrella Tifernina in southern Italy, the family’s emigration to England when he was six, his convoluted career as a lawyer and fraudster, the painstaking seven-year investigation by the most patient, detail-oriented man in recorded history – Detective Constable Jerry Walters– and the resulting trial and its outcome. It does so in a way that is almost as convoluted as Di Stefano’s career – jumping back and forth in various timelines recounted by Walters and victims as well as the one it is supposedly following itself. Even in an era of non-linear storytelling it is too much. What we gain in an appreciation of the welter of truths, half-truths, outright lies and genuine confusion out of which Walters had to glean his evidence is largely lost in our understanding of the chronology of the case, Di Stefano’s career and quite how he did it. Without such detail, you miss out on some of the awe at the scale of his deceptions – and achievements, however twisted they were – which powers this kind of thing.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“Unlike recent docuseries The Puppet Master, which told of an astonishing conman yet never sought to understand his motivations, The Devil’s Advocate looks deep into Di Stefano’s backstory over three riveting parts — because clearly we do enjoy watching a good legal shyster.”
James Jackson, The Times

“The story was a classic case of truth proving stranger than fiction. But without access to di Stefano himself, it floundered for lack of fresh insights.”
Ed Power, The i

This in-depth biography of the crime twins is absorbing and provocative. The final part charted their rise to the status of cultural icons, as Ronnie and Reggie achieved the fame they craved at the cost of their liberty. A crowd of 70,000 at the Reading Festival chanted their names, while Reggie listened over the phone from Parkhurst prison. Souvenir merchants plastered their image over mugs, pens and shopping bags. The Kray tea towel was particularly popular. To witness the transition from reign of terror to national treasures was truly disconcerting. We also heard a chilling tip from Cockney hard man Chris Lambrianou: ‘You can’t put a fully grown man’s body in the boot of a Ford Consul.’ Useful to know.
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail