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- Netflix’s new true crime series ‘Manhunt: Chasing the Fox’ is a chart-topper in the UK
- The show covers the chilling crimes of Malcolm Fairley, known as The Fox, and the massive manhunt to catch him in 1984
- Viewers have been gripped by the harrowing story
Netflix viewers can’t get enough of a chilling true crime series which has just arrived on the platform.
Manhunt: Chasing the Fox, a two-part documentary about the notorious Malcolm Fairley, is a new addition to the platform and has already soared to the number one spot in the daily TV charts.
The synopsis reads: ‘England, 1984. A masked intruder plagues the countryside with a string of burglaries and sexual assaults. This documentary recalls the race to catch him.’
The 2023 series has finally landed on Netflix, with viewers gripped by the harrowing real life story.
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‘Just watched this, really good,’ wrote Helen on Facebook, while Anna-Marie admitted: ‘Maybe a daytime watch for me lol.’
Fairley, who died aged 71 of natural courses in prison in May 2024, was known as The Fox and carried out a number of sex attacks in 1984.
His heinous crimes sparked one of the largest manhunts in British criminal history before his arrest in September of that same year, after forensic evidence was found linking his car to a crime scene.
Over 200 officers were involved in the chase, and at the time of his arrest, he had committed 81 offences.
Fairley was given the nickname The Fox because he would build dens in the homes of his victims as he waited for them, often masked and armed with a shotgun.
He would lie in wait, eating meals and watching television as he collected trophies before revealing himself to carry out his attacks.
It’s currently topping today’s rankings for series in the UK, with The Beast In Me, One Shot With Ed Sheeran, The Widower and Absentia rounding off the rest of the top 5.
Stranger Things is next as fans are clearly getting caught up or finishing a last minute re-watch before show returns for its fifth and final season later this week.
Ted Danson’s hilarious and wholesome detective comedy A Man On The Inside is back for a second series, coming in seventh today, while the top 10 is completed by Mr. Mercedes, Broadchurch and The Feud.
Meanwhile, Manhunt isn’t the only documentary to be made about Fairley, with Channel 5 viewers getting a feature length programme from ITN Productions last year.
The Intruder: He’s Watching You From Within aired in April 2024, featuring never before heard police interviews with Fairley confessing to his crimes.
‘There’s something primal about our fear that there’s someone lurking in our homes – in our place of safety,’ Channel 5’s commissioning editor Dan Louw said at the time.
‘This film is a real-life horror movie, and a tribute to the brave victims who survived Fairley’s terror and the diligent cops who beat the odds to track him down.’
Manhunt: Chasing The Fox is available to stream now on Netflix.
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