Best-selling crime writer Martina Cole discovers the gruesome truth about female serial killers in this new six-part ITV3 series.

Female killers have always confounded criminologists and police, and it’s still commonly believed that women are less capable of murder than men. But the reality is that women can be meticulous and methodical killers and, on average, it takes twice as long for police to catch them as their male counterparts.

In this new documentary series, the eminent crime writer takes an up close and personal look at some of the most significant female serial killers in history. From Myra Hindley to Beverly Allitt, Martina Cole will explore the lives and crimes of some of the most notorious female killers, re-examining evidence and painting a comprehensive portrait of the childhoods of these killers.

In the first episode we look at one of the most infamous in recent history: Myra Hindley. Alongside her partner, Ian Brady, Hindley was convicted for the abduction and murder of four children between 1963 and 1965 in the Moors Murders.

This episode examines to what extend Hindley was a driving force behind the abductions and killings, and exactly how much involvement she had with the murders themselves. In interviews with investigators and the victims’ families, Martina aims to gain insight into this most disturbing of cases.

The rest of the series delves into cases ancient and modern, stretching back to Elisabeth Bathory, who was responsible for the deaths of more than 600 people in 16th century Hungary. Lady killers are no modern phenomenon…