A drama starring Stephen Merchant and Sheridan Smith and focusing on the victims of serial killer Stephen Port concludes tonight.

Three-part Four Lives began on Monday and aims to tell its story from the perspective of the families of Ports' victims - which included former Dartford Grammar School student Daniel Whitworth from Gravesend.

In 2016, 46-year-old Port, from Barking, was found guilty of the murders of Mr Whitworth, 21, as well as Anthony Walgate, 23, Gabriel Kovari, 22, and Jack Taylor, 25, between June 2014 and September 2015 - and Port subsequently received a life sentence with a whole life order in November 2016.

The new drama from Jeff Pope and Neil McKay, the award-winning team behind The Moorside and Appropriate Adult, aims to "go beneath the headlines to shed new light on this story" and focus on the victims' families' fight to uncover the truth about what had happened to their lost sons and brothers in the face of a now widely-criticised police investigation.

Stephen Merchant plays Stephen Port, and Sheridan Smith will play Sarah Sak, the mother of Anthony Walgate. The director is David Blair.

Speaking of the project, Stephen Merchant said: “This is a story that can’t be ignored - how four young lives were lost and their families’ brave attempt to uncover what happened. This factual drama will shed light on their story, so it’s a privilege to be a part of telling it with the brilliant combination of Jeff Pope, Neil McKay and the BBC.”

Sheridan Smith adds: “I love playing real life characters - especially an inspirational woman like Sarah Sak - but with it comes responsibility. Along with the other families, Sarah went through so much heartache and it would have been easy for her to just accept what she was being told by the police, but something inside made her keep fighting for her son.”

Writer, Neil McKay, says: "Four young men with their entire future ahead of them lost their lives in a brutal and tragic way. This is a story not only of the consequences of that loss but also of the extraordinary courage and resilience shown by those who loved them as they sought truth and justice. It is a privilege to be able to tell it."

Jeff Pope, executive producer for ITV Studios, said the project was an "opportunity to say something about how we don't always have to accept what we are told by those in authority, and how determination, sheer bloody-mindedness and - above all else - love, will always triumph."

Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, said: "The Stephen Port murders have shone a light not just on the life of one deeply disturbed individual but into the plight of the four innocent young gay men who fell foul of him. Jeff and Neil will go behind the headlines to tell the story from a fresh perspective considering the impact of these crimes rather than the crimes themselves and will explore the challenges the police faced in identifying the serial nature of the killings. We are thrilled with the cast which has been assembled to tell this story and look forward to bringing this difficult but very timely story to BBC One.”

Four Lives is on BBC1 at 9pm.

The three-part drama will also be shown on iPlayer after the first episode airs.