BBC's Four Lives drama documentary about four men murdered by serial killer and rapist is essential viewing – Hayley Matthews

A friend was raving recently about the BBC drama documentary, Four Lives. It’s an incredibly infuriating watch, not because it’s rubbish, quite the opposite.

Relatives of victim Jack Taylor speak to the media after serial killer Stephen Port was found guilty and given a whole-life sentence (Picture: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images)

No, it is an amazing programme and it shows police failings in their investigations into the deaths of four young men which, I believe, exposed homophobia and mass incompetence.

You sit watching asking yourself “how?” – how on earth could they not have seen the links between the deaths and realised what was going on?

With more communication and better judgement, perhaps some of those young men might still be alive today. Sheridan Smith is outstanding in the drama and I’d recommend it to anyone who is familiar with the cases.

It really is such a sad and frustrating watch. However, it gives an insight into the number of mistakes made in the cases. It left me feeling disappointed for how the families of the victims were treated.

It’s so hard to watch knowing that it’s based on a true story and that these families were all going through heartbreak at the hands of a serial killer and rapist.

For those who have watched it, you’ll know what I mean when I say that the collie dog who found two of the bodies, in the same spot, could have done a much better job at working on the investigation than the officers did.

For the families who have gone through utter hell, I can only imagine what you’ve all been through. May your loved ones rest in eternal peace and may there never be homophobia and incompetence like this in a murder investigation ever, ever, again.