‘Timothy Spall gives the performance of his life’: The Sixth Commandment viewers pour praise on star

Timothy Spall has drawn huge praise for his performance as Peter Farquhar, a cherished and inspirational teacher who was murdered in 2015, in the BBC One true-crime drama The Sixth Commandment.

The first episode of the show, written by Sarah Phelps, tells the story of how a twenty-something student and church warden, Ben Field (Éanna Hardwicke) tricked Farquhar into a relationship, convinced him to put him in his will, then gaslit and abused him, before murdering him.

Viewers have been sharing their thoughts on the series on social media, with many highlighting Spall’s performance.

“Sarah Phelps’ The Sixth Commandment is an astonishing watch,” tweeted one person. “Rarely have I seen a true-crime drama so rich in compassion for the victims, or so disgusted by its monster. Timothy Spall in particular delivers a performance of exquisite, agonising tenderness.”

Another viewer added: “Timothy Spall with the performance of his life and Éanna Hardwicke sensationally chilling as the murderer. Acting of the highest order and script-writing off the scale. Unmissable.”

A third wrote: “I can highly recommend this, watched the first two episodes and it’s superb. Wonderful acting from everyone, but Timothy Spall is superb. It will break your heart.”

“Timothy Spall is playing this part so brilliantly. An acting masterclass if ever I saw one,” a fourth posted.

Another enthralled viewer tweeted: “Timothy Spall was immense... I was feeling so much anxiety and fear for him, beautifully played, and brilliantly written...”

“I smell a Bafta for Timothy Spall,” someone else said, while another shared: “Timothy Spall’s performance in this is as good as television gets.”

In the show, Spall portrays how Farquhar had repressed his sexuality for his whole life, and how he couldn’t believe his luck when he thought he’d found a companion in Field.

At the series launch, attended by The Independent, Spall said it was this internal battle that Farquhar had been fighting that drew him to the role. “Within Peter, I saw a real tension between somebody trying to reconcile their desires with their faith,” he said, “and within that attempt at reconciliation, that almost denial of the reality of it, along comes the object of a prayer, so perfectly an answer to a prayer that he cannot believe it.

“And I think that is the real deep tragedy of it: that this man who had given up hope for love, finds it. And he died sincerely believing it was still there.”

Episode two of the series focuses on Field’s next victim, retired headteacher Ann Moore-Martin (Anne Field).

Read The Independent’s review of the show here and a feature about the making of the series here.