The Secret viewers ‘can’t sleep’ after harrowing murder scenes in James Nesbitt Netflix thriller
JAMES Nesbitt’s ITV drama The Secret has landed on Netflix but viewers have been left “horrified” by the show’s harrowing murder scenes.
The Secret, which first premiered on ITV in 2016, has just been picked up by Netflix and, while the reviews are positive, viewers have been left too scared to sleep after watching it.
“I’m as hooked as I am horrified,” one fan said while watching the four-part series.
The Secret, which is based on the book Let This Be Our Secret by journalist Deric Henderson, dives deep into the apparent suicides of two individuals over two decades ago.
In May 1991, Lesley Howell and Trevor Buchanan were found dead in County Derry, Ireland. The pair were together and had seemingly committed suicide in a Toyota because there was a pipe running from the exhaust into the car.
A botched investigation at the time concluded that their pair made a suicide pact because of their guilt over an illicit affair they’d allegedly been having.
It was years before the true story was uncovered. Lesley and Trevor had actually been murdered.
The Secret tells the chilling tale of how these two individuals were killed by their spouses — who were actually the ones having the affair — and staged to look like they’d committed suicide.
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Lesley was married to successful dentist Colin Howell, and was the mother of his four children. Meanwhile, police officer Trevor was married to Hazel Buchanan, with whom he shared two children.
It was Colin and Hazel who’d actually been having the illicit affair, and they killed their spouses in a horrifying double murder.
James Nesbitt, 57, plays Colin, who gassed his 31-year-old wife to death and then hid her in the boot of his car while he drove to Hazel’s house. Together, Colin and Hazel (played by Genevieve O’Reilly, 45) gassed 33-year-old Trevor while he slept, but the police officer reportedly woke up at the moment the pair were trying to kill him.
Unfortunately, Colin and Hazel were successful is their heinous double murder plot, and they faked their already-dead spouses’ double suicide.
Viewers have expressed horror at these dark double murder scenes.
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“I can’t lie that hasn’t sat well with me ever since I watched it and it’s made me question the madness people go to,” one viewer said.
“If you want a good night’s sleep, don’t watch The Secret on Netflix before bed,” another said.
A third viewer added: “It’s wild there’s people out there that would smoke out their wife and husband just to be with their side ting and think it’s normal in the sight of God.”
When the investigation into Lesley and Trevor’s deaths was ruled a suicide, Colin and Hazel were in the clear.
It wasn’t until 2009 that the truth actually came to light when Colin told his secret to a church pastor. He also implicated his former partner Hazel Buchanan, who he’d split up with. Hazel had remarried, becoming Hazel Stewart.
Colin was a deeply religious man, so when his personal life crashed down around him, he believed it was a sign from God and he was being made to pay for his sins.
Colin and Hazel were convicted of the double murder in 2010. The disgraced dentist received 21 years in prison while Hazel was sentenced to 18 years.
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After the sentencing, Trevor’s brother Gordon Buchanan said: “I will forever be haunted by the knowledge Trevor was aware of what was being done to him in his own bed - the safest place one could imagine.”
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Sadly, Trevor and Gordon’s dad Jim passed away before the truth came out.
The Secret is available to stream on Netflix now.
