12. Richard Hillman - Coronation Street
Granada TelevisionFor readers who are engaging with this article from across seas let us start this entry with some preamble. Coronation Street is a popular British soap opera set somewhere near Manchester which people nationwide watch for some comfortable viewing in the early evenings most weekdays. The programme shows the somewhat tedious inhabitants of Coronation Street as they live out their average lives we see their ordinary hopes, dreams and aspirations play out, their scandalous love affairs and the whole cast of characters going to the streets pub (a little too often) for a nice pint. Bearing in mind how unremarkable the rest of the shows subject matter is, it was all the more shocking to audiences when Richard Hillman played with a marvellous Bond villain-esque suaveness by Brian Capron took up tenancy on the street. As is the case with many television psychopaths, Richard Hillman (who the tabloids aptly dubbed Richard Killman) primarily targeted women. He kills his meddling ex-wife and Maxine Peacock and attempts to murder the elderly duo of Emily Bishop and Audrey Roberts. It is the complete lack of emotion shown in the face of these atrocities that elevates Hillman from money-hungry sociopath to fully fledged psycho. The viewers of Coronation Street were not put off by this more emotionally harassing content. In fact, the Hillman storyline attracted record-breaking viewer ratings and was a critical success. The show has since tried to replicate the saga with several other killers but these have all paled in comparison to the icy Richard Hillman.