Oscar winner Jim Broadbent has hit back at critics of his forthcoming drama about Moors murderer Myra Hindley.
Samantha Morton has been vilified in some quarters for taking the Hindley role, a reaction Broadbent has described as "ridiculous."
"There is always going to be a reaction when there's a mention of Myra Hindley and the Press are going to over-react to some extent. There is a sort of feeding frenzy and any mention of Hindley can get that famous photo on the front page again," Broadbent told PA.
"But this is a serious film about Longford and his relationship with Hindley and how that relationship reveals the man he was. It is not a sensational look at the Moors Murders...It is ridiculous that Samantha should be vilified."
The 90-minute Channel 4 drama is expected to portray Hindley sympathetically from the point of view of prison campaigner Lord Longford whom Broadbent plays.