The Intruder: He’s Watching You from Within, 8 April 8, 2024

In this gripping documentary, The Intruder: He’s Watching You from Within, airing on Monday 8 April on Channel 5, viewers are transported back to the blistering hot summer of 1984, when a sadistic predator known as “The Fox” terrorised rural Britain. With a reign of terror spanning across Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Hertfordshire, this one-man crime wave earned his moniker through his strange and distinctive behaviours.

The Fox, donning a homemade mask, would break into homes, consuming food and drinks, and constructing makeshift dens using the occupants’ furniture and blankets. He unscrewed light bulbs and examined family photo albums by flashlight or watched television, waiting for the sound of a key in the door, signalling the arrival of his unsuspecting victims.

The Intruder tells the story of the desperate police manhunt for this prolific and depraved criminal, with officers taken off the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper and the miners’ strike to focus on capturing this elusive offender. The pressure was on as the list of suspects grew with each attack, reaching over 5,000 names.

The documentary features never-before-heard police interviews with the man responsible, Malcolm Fairley, who committed 80 crimes as The Fox before his capture. It showcases the massive operation, dubbed Operation Peanut, which mobilised 200 officers, canine units, and even a Lynx helicopter from the British Armed Forces.

The Intruder: He’s Watching You from Within provides a chilling insight into the mind of a sadistic predator and the dedicated efforts of the police to bring him to justice.

The Intruder: He’s Watching You from Within airs on Channel 5 at 10:00 PM on Monday, April 8, 2024, offering viewers a real-life horror story and a tribute to the victims and law enforcement involved.