Will Mellor has described how it felt to explore the night of Sarah Everard’s murder in his new documentary about the police.
Cops Who Kill With Will Mellor sees the Line Of Duty actor, 46, scrutinise the police from a different angle, as the true crime series looks into eight horrific cases where officers have committed murder.
The series looks into the high profile kidnap and murder of Everard by the hands of Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens, which shook the country in March 2021.
Using his profession – a police warrant card and handcuffs – Couzens lured the 33-year-old into his car in South London as he pretended to ‘arrest’ her.
He then drove the marketing executive 80 miles to Kent, where he raped and killed her.
While looking into the case, Will described how walking in Everard’s footsteps ‘left [him] feeling quite sick’ as he went to the scene of the kidnap near Clapham Common.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
‘To feel vulnerable as a woman, to walk in her footsteps, it did open my eyes to the safety of women, and also how vulnerable they must feel at times on their own,’ the soap actor said.
Speaking on Lorraine this morning, the Strictly Come Dancing star added: ‘Walking down a busy street like she was, she did everything right, and she was on the phone to her boyfriend, and she’d just been out for a bottle of wine with a friend.’
The Coronation Street actor also insisted that the series, released today, is ‘not cop-bashing’ but looks into the ‘bad eggs that slip through the net’.
He also raised the point that ‘red flags’ should be acted upon before it’s too late, as he referred to Couzens’ nickname among fellow officers ahead of Everard’s murder, which was ‘the rapist’.
Over a dozen Metropolitan Police officers have been convicted of serious offences since the murder of Everard – the majority of who committed sex crimes against women.
Today, Couzens – who is already serving a life sentence for his crimes – is to be sentenced for three counts of indecent exposure, which occurred before he raped, kidnapped and murdered Everard.
This comes as Will, who is a dad-of-two, revealed he is installing a tracking device on his youngest daughter’s phone amid his concerns for womens’ safety.
‘It’s so important,’ he said.
‘I said to her, “I’m not spying on you but if anything happens, I know where you are”.
‘I am protective of people but my kids are my world and you just want to protect innocence.’
The actor shares 18-year-old Jayden and 14-year-old Renee with his wife Michelle McSween.
Lorraine airs weekdays on ITV1 at 9am.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE : Cops face misconduct hearings over handling of Wayne Couzens indecent exposure cases
MORE : Wayne Couzens pleads guilty to three counts of indecent exposure