The Sixth Commandment viewers are left in floods of tears by Anne Reid’s ‘heart wrenching’ performance as a retired teacher seduced by a psychopathic church warden
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Viewers of The Sixth Commandment were left in floods of tears last night by Anne Reid’s performance as a retired teacher seduced by a psychopathic church warden.
Anne Moore-Martin suffered a campaign of gaslighting and physical and mental torture at the hands of 32-year-old church warden Benjamin Field, telling friends she ‘loved’ him and giving him a key to her house.
In the second episode of the BBC drama last night, Anne, played by Anne Reid, is shown falling in love with Field and changing her will into his favour.
However her neice Ann-Marie, played by Annabel Scoley, grows suspicious of Field and manages to change the will back shortly before Anne suffers a stroke and passes away.
Many of those watching confessed they were in awe over the performances in the programme, with one saying: ‘Anne Reid is magnificent as always.’
Viewers of The Sixth Commandment were left in floods of tears last night by Anne Reid’s performance as a retired teacher seduced by a psychopathic church warden
Another wrote: ‘Such a harrowing story. Timothy Spall gave such a strong performance last night.
‘Anne Reid off the scale tonight. Unmissable drama. A must see for everyone involved in adult safeguarding.’
A third added: ‘Tears tonight. Astonishing piece of work. I binged all 4. RIP Peter Farquahar and Ann Moore-Martin.’
A fourth said: ‘Both episodes have made me angry and brought me to tears. The performances are absolutely superb. Timothy Spall, Anne Reid and Annabel Scholey were heart wrenching.’
‘Anne Reid in The Sixth Commandment…What a tour de force…magnificent!’ another commented.
One added: ‘Anne Reid is absolutely brilliant in every single thing she does.’
Another commented: ‘Every award going please to Timothy Spall, Anne Reid, Eanna Hardwicke and all the cast, plus PhelpsieSarah for the phenomenal Sixth Commandment.
‘A terrible story but it gave the victims their humanity and dignity. A brilliant watch.’
Many of those watching confessed they were in awe over the performances in the programme (pictured)
The episode began with Peter’s funeral, at which Field gave his eulogy.
Meanwhile at the wake, Field tells Peter’s sister-in-law that he hopes to sell Peter’s house so that he can buy a new flat.
And it’s not long before Field begins growing closer to Peter’s elderly neighbour Anne.
He tells her that it’s Ian who wants to sell the house, which is leaving him homeless, and he has nowhere to live.
Over a series of visits, he is shown to be growing closer to Anne, asking her about why she is single, kissing her cheek and bonding with her over religion.
But her niece Ann-Marie quickly grows concerned as Field starts spending more time with the older woman.
When Anne raises these concerns with Field, he tells her: ‘Ann-Marie won’t understand how it is for us.
‘How we know each other so deeply, as if we’ve met before. Unjudged by anyone but God.’
Anne Moore-Martin, 83, was Field’s second victim. She too was seduced by the criminal. She is portrayed in the drama by Anne Reid, 88
The episode began with Peter’s funeral, at which Field gave his eulogy in front of his friends and family
Over a series of visits, Field is shown to be growing closer to Anne, asking her about why she is single, kissing her cheek and bonding with her over religion
He then kisses her, before offering to bring her a cups of tea, and reading Bible passages to her in bed.
Ann-Marie asks her husband if she is being overly suspicious of the man, but he assures her he is being a ‘decent human being.’
However, just like Peter did in the final months of his life, Anne is shown growing weaker, more frail, and more confused.
Field gives Anne a framed photograph with the words: ‘I am always with you’ printed on the bottom.
Meanwhile he begins scrawling messages on mirrors in her home, with Anne telling Field: ‘I think God spoke to me.’
The two are also shown changing Anne’s will to be in Field’s favour.
Ann-Marie is horrified when Anne tells her Field has become ‘more than friend’, saying: ‘He loves me, he loves me so much. He makes me so special. He’s asked me to marry him and I’m going to say yes.’
She says: ‘I’d have to be off my head that this young man I don’t know is saying he wants to marry you.’
The two argue, as Anne tells Ann-Marie she thinks she is a ‘silly old woman, waiting to die’, saying: ‘You have really upset me, you have really hurt me.’
Ann-Marie tries desperately to get in touch with Anne, but Field deletes her messages.
Field tells her they have a special bond as though they had known each other in another life (pictured)
Anne is shown growing weaker, more frail, and more confused and Field begins scrawling messages on mirrors in her home
Terrified her aunt is in danger, Ann-Marie travels to the older woman’s home, where she finds Anne has suffered a fall and quickly takes her to hospital.
Field tries to visit Anne’s house, but Ann-Marie confronts him, and tells him to leave, as well as leaving his key to the property.
She speaks to the police, saying: ‘He’s been trying to get into the hospital and saying he’s her nephew. He’s taken her folder with everything important in.’
Ann-Marie removes all of Field’s possessions from Anne’s house and leaves them on the pavement, before confronting him.
She says: ‘Do you think you’re in love with her? Do you think you need some help?’
Police came to visit Anne, where she tells them she saw Field putting white powder into her drinks.
She tells Ann-Marie: ‘The thing is, he didn’t ask me for anything. I just seemed to want to give it to him. All of it.
‘I just feel so ashamed. I’ve always prided myself on being intelligent. To think a young man was in love with me…I don’t know what’s happened to me.’
Ann-Marie is horrified when Anne tells her Field has become ‘more than friend’ and the two women fight
After Anne suffers a fall at home, she is moved into a hospice and police begin to investigate Field’s behaviour
But tragically, overnight before the investigation can go any further, Anne dies.
As Ann-Marie collects Anne’s possessions from the hospital, she tells the police she is now questioning Peter’s death, saying: ‘What is Aunty Anne wasn’t the only one?’
In reality, Mr Farquhar, who had struggled with his sexuality for years, had taught English at the private Manchester Grammar School before moving to the prestigious Stowe in 1983.
He was head of English there for 21 years, before deciding to retire in 2004 so he could write novels.
Field was a 20-year-old undergraduate student when he first met Mr Farquhar.
READ MORE: Who was Peter Farquhar? The shocking true story behind his murder
On discovering that both he and his neighbour were wealthy, Field decided to seduce them to get his hands on their money.
Pretending to be in love first with Mr Farquhar and then Miss Moore-Martin, he was sexually intimate with both, despite dismissing his male partner as a ‘faggot’ and having feelings of ‘indifference’ towards his female victim.
Once he had gained their trust, Field carried out sinister mind games and plied the pair with alcohol and drugs.
Mr Farquhar’s health deteriorated to the point where he was at times rambling, incoherent and suffering from hallucinations.
In the mornings he would often find himself covered in bruises and his prized possessions missing, with no memory of what had happened.
‘I am finding more joy in life now than ever before in my swift 23 years,’ Field wrote as he began his campaign of abuse.
After his arrest, police uncovered a list of potential future victims which included his own parents and grandparents.
He also fantasised in notebooks about a nighttime murder rampage, predicting he could kill up to 50 people in a single spree.
When Mr Farquhar was found dead by his cleaner in October 2015, the first person she called after the emergency services was Field, who everyone believed was his loyal partner.
In March the previous year, the pair had pledged themselves to one another in a London church service.
Timothy Spall, who is portraying murdered retired teacher Peter Farquhar (right) in new drama the Sixth Commandment, has told how the victim was outwardly ‘vivacious’ but suffered from ‘loneliness’ and a ‘desire for affection’
Mr Farquhar suffered a campaign of gaslighting and physical and mental torture at the hands of 32-year-old Field (right), who is serving a minimum 36-year prison sentence for his murder. Field is portrayed by 26-year-old Irish star Éanna Hardwicke (left)
Undated handout photo issued by Thames Valley Police of Peter Farqhuar (right) and Benjamin Field
The day was particularly special for Mr Farquhar, who wrote in his journal: ‘It is one of the happiest moments of my life. Gone are the fears of dying alone.’
Describing his initial encounter with Mr Farquhar, who was a guest lecturer at his university, Field boasted of the pair’s ‘vulgarly commercial’ relationship.
‘He gives me things, and he gets me for a length of time,’ he wrote.
He explained the relationship in even cruder terms to a friend, writing:
‘He and I have struck a deal which is I pay for nothing and will hang out with him until his eventual death win/win… I’m p [pretty] comfortable w/death.’
Field and a university friend moved into Mr Farquhar’s home as lodgers in 2013.
At the time, he was working in the bakery section at Tesco and as a carer at a nearby nursing home.
Retired English teacher Peter Farquhar (left) was murdered by Benjamin Field in 2019 in a case that shocked the nation. New BBC drama the Sixth Commandment sees Timothy Spall (right, in character) portray him
There he filmed himself tormenting a resident, telling her she didn’t ‘have any friends and you have never married’.
In 2014, the same month as his and Mr Farquhar’s church ceremony, Field began a relationship with another woman, Setara Pracha, an admissions tutor at Buckingham Universtiy, where he had been a student.
He went on to become a deputy church warden at St Mary’s Church in Stowe and boasted to a friend how he was going to become a vicar.
The abuse he subjected Mr Farquhar to included torturing a pet chihuahua he had given him and making him believe he had dementia.
After his will had been changed in Field’s favour, Mr Farquhar was murdered. He was found to have consumed prescription sedatives and alcohol, and police believe he may also have been suffocated with a pillow.
Field initially avoided suspicion and pocketed £20,000 from his victim’s will. When Mr Farquhar’s house was sold by his brother, Field got a further £142,000.
He then moved on to his second victim, Ms Moore-Martin, who he had been introduced to by Mr Farquhar.
The retired teacher and devout Catholic quickly fell under his spell, giving him a key to her house and telling friends she loved him.
Above her dressing table she even hung a framed photograph of him bearing the words: ‘I am always with you’.
In 2016, she gave him £4,000 to buy a car. Having no intention of actually purchasing a vehicle with the money, Field hired a car for a day to dupe her.
He then conned the woman out of £27,000 telling her ne needed the money to help his brother, who he claimed was desperately ill.
On mirrors in her home, he would scrawl messages in white marker. One read: ‘Ben makes you whole, Give the whole to him.’
Another stated: ‘All that you give him will be returned tenfold.’
Convinced by his act, Ms Moore-Martin changed her will in Field’s favour at the end of 2016.
In February 2017 she suffered a seizure and ended up in hospital.
It remains unclear what caused the decline, but she did tell friends days earlier that Field had given her ‘some powder’ which helped her sleep.
Field was however cleared of attempting to kill her.
Once his victim was in hospital, Field was unable to get access to her and the pensioner’s niece, Anne-Marie Blake, became suspicious.
As police began an investigation, Ms Blake changed her aunt’s will to write Field out.
In March 2017, Field was arrested for the first time, but two months later, Ms Moore-Martin died for a massive stroke.
Her niece said in evidence to the jury at Field’s trial: ‘She was tortured by it and found it very difficult to get her head around the betrayal.
‘She said to me, “I am such an intelligent woman. How could I let this happen to myself?”
At his trial, former Stowe School secretary, Ms Zettl, then 101, became the oldest witness in a British murder case.
Field’s co-accused, Martyn Smith, who was cleared of involvement in the deaths of both Mr Farquhar and Ms Moore-Martin, had lived as a lodger with Ms Zettl.
In January 2022, Field began a second bid to have his conviction overturned. The Court of Appeal dismissed a previous challenge in 2021.
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