Timothy Spall wears checked pyjamas as he films his first scenes for latest role as murdered teacher

Timothy Spall was in costume in Bristol this week for his latest role as the inspirational teacher Peter Farquhar, who was befriended and eventually murdered by evil church warden Ben Field in 2015.

The acclaimed actor was pictured in a pair of blue checked pyjamas as he strolled around a residential street for filming. 

Spall, 65, plays the lead part in new BBC true-crime drama The Sixth Commandment.

The new four-part drama portrays the events surrounding the deaths of Peter Farquhar and Ann Moore-Martin in the village of Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire.

Field, 30, killed Farquhar, 69, in order to inherit his house and money after driving him to think he was losing his mind following a period of gaslighting.

Field, from Olney in Buckinghamshire, was ordered to serve at least 36 years behind bars in October 2019 after being found guilty of Mr Farquhar’s murder following a trial at Oxford Crown Court.

On set: The acclaimed actor was pictured in a pair of blue checked pyjamas and green dressing gown as he strolled around a residential street for filming 

The prosecution case at trial was that Field secretly gave Mr Farquhar drugs and spiked his whisky, hoping that his eventual death at his hands would look like suicide or an accident.

It was only when the Baptist minister’s son began targeting Mr Farquhar’s neighbour, Ann Moore-Martin, in the village of Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire, that his wicked scheme began to unravel.

The series has been written by Sarah Phelps (A Very British Scandal), and will star Spall as Farquhar, an inspirational teacher who met charismatic student Ben Field, played by Éanna Hardwicke (Normal People). 

Field, from Olney in Buckinghamshire, was ordered to serve at least 36 years behind bars in October 2019 after being found guilty of Peter Farquhar’s murder following a trial at Oxford Crown Court. Pictured: Field and Mr Farquhar at their betrothal ceremony

Anne Reid plays Ann Moore-Martin while Annabel Scholey (The Split), Sheila Hancock (Unforgotten), Ben Bailey Smith (The Split), Conor MacNeill (Industry), Adrian Rawlins (Baptiste) and Amanda Root (Summerland) have also joined the cast. 

Spall told the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden how every character in every project teaches him something: ‘Whatever the spirit is, to a larger or lesser degree, you take a little part of a character away and that stays with you for ever,’ says Spall of the various roles he’s performed.

‘Part of the process of trying to work out how other people think educates you about human beings really, for good and bad.

‘Every character teaches you something in some way; it’s the great thing about playing a human being.’

Benjamin Field (pictured), 30, killed Peter Farquhar, 69, in order to inherit his house and money after driving him to think he was losing his mind following a period of gaslighting