Interview with Harry Treadaway who plays Keith Pedder

6 August 2021

Why did you want to do Deceit?

Art can comment on and spark conversations about real life, and that’s what Deceit does. [Exec producer] David Nath had done “The Interrogation of Tony Martin”, which I watched with my jaw on the floor, it was incredible drama. I knew I wanted to work with him and I’d enjoyed working with [director] Niall MacCormick about ten years ago, To be on the other side of the police interview table for once was also a thrilling prospect!

How much more responsibility do you feel playing a real, living person whose life is arguably changed forever by the events you’re portraying?

It was clear from talking to Dave Nath and Pete Beard [exec producers] that this was looking at police tactics, the world of the ’90s and the way women were essentially used in certain professions – it was coming from an honourable place, which was really important. The weight of backstory is wonderful because you’re not starting with a blank piece of paper, although I end up thinking of everyone I play as real, so it doesn’t change things drastically for me personally, but I do empathise with Keith. I was constantly bringing his book to set, trying to bring things in I felt would support his arc, and I relished that responsibility.

Who is Keith Pedder?

Well, here’s Keith, fresh into a promotion and given this case, an appalling crime that was all over the national media and they spent months not making progress. They had a guy, Colin Stagg, who they thought fitted the bill, but didn’t have any real evidence. If Keith could solve the case I think he’d be promoted and hailed as a hero. If he can’t, essentially, he might lose his job. It’s an incredibly difficult position with huge pressure. He really wanted to find the person that did it, but he’s human, we all have egos… The powers-that-be in the Met signed off on a relatively unproven method because they were equally desperate for closure: criminal profiling can give you some focus, but it proved a very dangerous tool here. It was during the Satanic Panic of the early 1990s, I think the police walked into Colin’s flat, saw a pentagon on the floor and thought: this guy’s really weird. It was confirmation bias in action.

What is Keith’s relationship like with ‘Lizzie James’ and Paul Britton?

I think in our story Pedder puts Britton on a pedestal and thinks he’s a genius in part out of necessity, because he needs to share the load with someone. They placed enormous weight on Britton’s judgements, probably too much in retrospect because they really believed in it and wanted justice. ‘Lizzie’ was the pawn in the operation, the person who would strike up the relationship with Colin, but not nearly enough thought went into the psychological impact that would have on her.

What did you remember about the case?

I was about six when it happened. It was an early memory, seeing a paper and realising people killed people. It got through, even to a young child.

What were the most fulfilling moments of the shoot?

Working again! We were fearful to begin with, but the whole team environment was wonderful after half a year of wondering if it would ever come back. My first two or three days were 30 pages of dialogue – the two big interview scenes between Keith and Colin, so I spent weeks learning them, and the process of filming for those two scenes in their entirety before anyone says cut was incredibly rewarding.

Did you enjoy working on a drama that you knew contained elements of verbatim dialogue?

Whatever the balance was of verbatim to written dialogue, it felt real to us as actors. I didn’t know which lines or bits of the drama were real, but it felt haunting to recreate these interviews almost 30 years on.

What lessons can be learnt from this case?

It’s very timely, given the public enquiry into undercover operations. These cases of undercover officers having emotional, physical relationships and children with their targets simply can’t be repeated. If the evidence isn’t there, you may want to catch someone but not at the expense of basic ethics. It’s so flawed as a technique, because people in love will do and say anything, especially if they’re lonely and desperate for physical connection. The fact Colin doesn’t run a mile when Sadie starts talking about being involved what she claims to be doesn’t make it any more likely that he committed the crime. It might just mean he’s incredibly lonely. The manner of an investigation is so important, not just the end result.