Lucy Letby’s parents have gone public with their anger at a new Netflix true crime documentary about their daughter, accusing the production of turning the worst period of their lives into entertainment. As the streaming giant prepares to release The Investigation of Lucy Letby, the couple say the use of intimate arrest footage crosses a line and risks turning their quiet street into a macabre tourist stop.
The clash drops straight into an already heated debate over how far cameras should go when they follow real criminal cases. Here, the parents of a convicted child killer are not arguing about guilt or innocence, but about how much of their own lives the world is entitled to see.
The documentary that pushed a grieving family over the edge
Netflix’s latest true crime project, The Investigation of Lucy Letby, is pitched as a feature length look at how police and prosecutors built the case against the former neonatal nurse. Listings for the film describe a detailed account of the inquiry, with production details setting out its focus on the criminal investigation rather than the trial itself. A separate programme page confirms that the documentary is built around the high profile case that has already dominated headlines and court reporting.
The film is part of a broader push by Netflix into British true crime, with the streamer trailing a feature length format and exclusive access to material gathered during the police operation. Early information about The Investigation of Lucy Letby, including a synopsis that it is Coming to the platform with a note that it Releases February, has been promoted alongside other crime titles. Industry write ups say the project, titled The Investigation of Lucy Letby, is part of a slate of factual shows that Netflix confirmed in Jan, with one preview noting that Netflix has leaned on access to a family member of a victim to frame the story from the perspective of those most directly harmed.
“Invasion of privacy” on a Hereford cul-de-sac
For Susan and John Letby, that framing does not soften the blow of seeing their own home turned into a set. The couple, who still live in the same house where their daughter was arrested, have described the use of police bodycam footage from that day as an “invasion of privacy” and a “complete lack of respect” for their family life. In interviews, they have said the documentary’s decision to show Lucy Letby in her dressing gown as officers enter the property in Hereford makes their front door instantly recognisable, a detail that has been highlighted in Granada coverage of the row.
The parents argue that the programme goes beyond reporting on a notorious criminal case and instead exposes the private layout of their house and street. One report notes that the footage shows the interior of the Hereford property, with Lucy Letby visible in the hallway, which Susan and John Letby say effectively turns their home into a backdrop for a global audience. A more detailed account of the scene describes how cameras capture Lucy Letby in Hereford, wearing her dressing gown, as officers move through the house, a sequence that has been singled out in a regional report as particularly intrusive.
Parents’ fury and the ethics of true crime
The emotional core of the Letbys’ complaint is not about revisiting the criminal case, but about being dragged into the spotlight as supporting characters. Susan and John Letby have said they will not watch the documentary and that it “would likely kill us if we did,” a stark line that underlines how raw the experience remains for them. They have also warned that showing the outside and inside of their house risks turning it into a “tourist attraction,” with strangers potentially seeking out the address after seeing it on screen, a concern set out in detail in coverage that quotes Susan and John directly. In their statement, they describe the programme as a “complete invasion of privacy” and say they were not consulted about the use of the arrest footage.
Other reports echo that anger, quoting the couple as saying they feel “sickened” by the idea of their hallway and driveway being replayed on millions of screens. One account notes that the documentary, produced by ITN Productions for Netflix, includes scenes that show their longtime home in detail, something the parents say is on “another level” compared with previous coverage of the case. That description appears in a piece that summarises how Lucy Letby’s parents slammed the new Netflix doc in a statement in Feb, with the write up stressing that the programme, titled The Investigation of Lucy Letby, is made by ITN Productions and that the parents believe the inclusion of their house, which has been their base for decades, crosses a moral line, a point laid out in a NEED to KNOW style briefing.
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