The Sixth Commandment Exclusive Clip: Timothy Spall Plays Peter Farquhar

Britbox’s thrilling line-up of content from across the Atlantic.

The streaming service will debut The Sixth Commandment on Wednesday, October 4, 2023.

TV Fanatic scored an exclusive first look at the premiere.

The Sixth Commandment tells the story of an inspirational teacher, Peter Farquhar (Timothy Spall), and a charismatic young student, Ben Field (Éanna Hardwicke, Normal People), who meet and bond over their love of books and involvement with the Church of England.

However, their friendship soon takes a deadly turn that comes to light after Ben turns his attention to Peter’s deeply religious neighbor, Ann Moore-Martin (Anne Reid, Last Tango in Halifax).

The result is a series of stunning revelations, culminating in a high-profile trial.

This series, written by Sarah Phelps (A Very British Scandal, The Pale Horse) and directed by Saul Dibb (The Salisbury Poisonings), is inspired by the critically acclaimed and BAFTA-nominated documentary Catching A Killer: A Diary From The Grave.

The cast also includes Annabel Scholey (The Split, The Salisbury Poisonings), Sheila Hancock (Unforgotten, A Discovery of Witches, Great Canal Journeys), and Ben Bailey Smith (The Split, Andor). 

The cast is rounded out by Conor MacNeill (Industry), Adrian Rawlins (Baptiste, Chernobyl), and Amanda Root (Summerland, Unforgotten).

The Sixth Commandment has been made in full cooperation with Peter Farquhar and Ann Moore-Martin’s families.

We see the bond between Peter and Ben in the clip, with Peter taken aback by Ben’s revelation about ending his relationship with his girlfriend.

Ben reveals that he wasn’t honest with himself about his feelings for her, which sends him in a very different direction.

Ben then gives Peter a poem and worries about him reading it because he cares what Peter thinks of his work.

As a result, he asks Peter to keep the poem and read it in the comfort of his home.

It’s obvious the pair have struck up this bond, but Peter doesn’t look too impressed about Ben writing him the poem.

He’s probably wondering about the poem’s content because of how Ben reacted to him preparing to read it.

Check out the TV clip below.

Be sure to watch The Sixth Commandment when it premieres on Britbox on Wednesday, October 4, 2023.

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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.