con_au The Secret is based in real events occurring in Ireland in the 1990s and is an examination of just how far people can go in the name of passion. The Secret isn't a crime drama so much as a psychological thriller. Two people, brought together by their love of God and the Baptist Church, fall in lust, in spite of their faith and their seemingly functioning marriages and families. They allow themselves to act on their passion, drawing comfort from God's forgiveness, and their faith that their infidelity is part of His plan. They spiral, fighting against both their fever for the forbidden, and the restrictions of their church and marriages, eventually convincing themselves that it would be a mercy to put their spouses out of the pain of their faithless marriages. Told over a span of 20 years, this is a jaw-dropping example of how incredibly ordinary people can convince themselves to do incredibly wicked things. James Nesbit and Genevieve O'Reilly both do a cracking job portraying Colin Howell and Hazel Buchanan; a dentist and a school teacher who allow their affair to lead them beyond temptation and into complete psychopathy. Following their conspired crime the lovers drift apart over time, as Howell Howell gives into his demons, violating patients and a willing Buchanan while they're anaesthetised, and Buchanan suffocating under the intensity of the ties that bind her Howell. Nesbit's ever mobile face is a total counterpoint to O'Reilly's flat affect as they descend into madness and then crawl back out, both finding a new normal in fresh, highly suburban relationships. It's only when God strikes back, with the death of Howell's son, that Howell starts unravelling and doesn't stop until their crimes are laid bare. The Secret moves at a good pace over 4 episodes. It doesn't attempt any fancy footwork by bringing in plot loops and the dialogue, and characterisation are all on point. The mundanity of the 90s fashion and decor underline how unbelieveable the derailing of these 2 'normal' people really was. The Secret is a great example of truth sometimes being stranger than fiction. The series won't dazzle you with plot twists but it will remind you that in the midst of our 'normal', there's sometimes a bit of evil afoot.

davideo-2 STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning A true story set in the early 90s, in the small Irish town of Coleraine, a devoutly religious community where the church elders sway a lot of influence in the lives of the parishioners. Colin Howell (James Nesbitt) works as a dentist, and has an idyllic family life with his wife and children. But he becomes infatuated with Hazel (Genevieve O' Reilly), the wife of the local policeman, and the two begin a passionate affair. After they're exposed, they drift apart for a while, only for them to rekindle it again. It's after this that Colin suggests a murderous way that they can be together, that marks the beginning of a twenty year quest towards justice and closure.Given the comparatively small number of murders that the UK witnesses (at least, in times gone past), there's always that great potential for drama in exploring the motivations behind the killings, especially in portrayals of serial killers. But this particular story tells the tale of a single double murder committed by two people. But the tale itself is such a wayward, unusual one, involving a pair of non perverted, normal people with probably no trouble with the law in the past, who chose such a strange, cold blooded way to deal with their forbidden love.In a drama that spans out between two parts and two decades, Nesbitt has to carry the title role. In TV dramas such as this, he has sort of become the 'go to guy' for this kind of thing, but if he's the reliable bloke for producers to fall back on, then he's definitely honed his craft over the years, and delivers a stirring lead performance here.It's a convincing portrayal of a complete novice, who transforms into a cold, calculating killer with little or no disdain. It's hard to tell whether he's using his religious convictions to justify his horrific deeds, or whether it's all just a front to cover his sick, assured presence, and as such it's great. Likewise, O'Reilly also shines as a cold, icy accomplice, happy to continue her life in spite of her actions.An impressive, well made dramatisation of cold blooded ruthlessness. ****

Jackson Booth-Millard Appropriate Adult covered the Fred and Rosemary West murders, The Widower covered the murders of Malcolm Webster, then came this, another mini-series about The Castlerock Suicides, real life crimes exposed as murders, I hoped it would be another good watch. Basically in Portadown, Northern Ireland, Colin Howell (James Nesbitt) is a deeply religious man, a member of the Baptist church, he is also father of ten and a former lay preacher, and a dentist by occupation. Despite his initial beliefs stopping him, Colin starts an affair with Hazel Buchanan (Genevieve O'Reilly), she also has strong religious beliefs, but to continue it Colin says that they are meant to be, or God would not have allowed it. Colin is convinced that he and Hazel should be together, he no longer feels the same way for his wife Lesley (Laura Pyper), and Hazel has complained of a loveless marriage to husband Trevor (EastEnders' Glen Wallace). Colin suggests that it would be too painful if the truth was revealed to their partners, so he suggests they should ease their suffering, by that he means killing them and making it look like suicide. So with Hazel's help he sets up a system for both Lesley and Trevor that they will die whilst unconscious or asleep, this will be done by suffocating using car fumes under bed sheets or in a car, and then their bodies placed elsewhere in a suicidal guise. As time passes Colin and Hazel try to continue their now strained relationship, both are feeling guilty for their actions, and of course their beliefs are causing them to become concerned that God will punish them, and of course, bad things happen to them that make this apparent. In the end, after almost twenty years of everyone believing that the suspicious deaths were just suicide, Colin finally comes forward to confess his actions, he confirms he was motivated by his lover, she claims she acted under duress. Colin Howell was found guilty of the two murders and was sentenced to life imprisonment, Hazel Buchanan was also sentenced to life imprisonment for her involvement in the crime, Howell also later pleaded guilty to sexual assault on nine female patients over a period of several years. Also starring Patrick O'Kane as Victor Buchanan and Nina Woods as Lauren Howell. Nesbitt gives a great performance as the delusional man who murdered two innocent people for the sake of an affair, O'Reilly is also good as his lover, the fact-based story of the two lovers who thought they could get away with murder is uneasy viewing, but it is compelling as well to see how it all unfolds,a most watchable crime drama. Very good!

Martin Bradley A few years ago a dentist from Coleraine, here in Northern Ireland, Colin Howell, together with the woman with whom he was having an affair, was convicted of the murder of their respective spouses almost 20 years earlier. After their conviction a book about the case appeared and now this television dramatization, "The Secret". The problem I have with it is that no matter how well done it is, and it is superbly made, people immediately connected with the killers, (their children, their new partners, family etc), are still alive and dragging up these events only a few years after they happened is bound to cause considerable pain to the survivors, so much so that the matter of this series was even raised in the British Parliament.That said, who doesn't like a juicy murder, especially when sex is involved, particularly when it happened only a few miles from where you live and "The Secret" was the juiciest of murder yarns, excellently written, directed and performed. Until now I've never quite understood the attraction of James Nesbitt, a Northern Ireland actor who has never shaken off his thick Ballymena accent and no always seemed the same no matter what part he was playing but I have to admit he was superb as Howell. This was a career-best performance that just might win him a BAFTA, a complex, multi-layered piece of acting that will surely divide viewers as to whether Howell was the personification of evil or just dangerously disturbed.As Hazel Buchanan, his partner in crime, Dublin born Genevieve O'Reilly was almost as good, again creating a character with several layers to her personality. More credit, then, to both players since little is known of either Howell or Buchanan before the events portrayed. Yes, "The Secret" may well be controversial and I can fully understand the objections raised against it but it certainly wasn't prurient; rather this was a riveting piece of television and one of the best 'true crime' dramas of recent years.