I played twisted killer Tracie Andrews... it consumed me and she haunted my dreams - I was terrified

Tracie Andrews, a 27-year-old mother-of-one violently stabbed her fiancé Lee Harvey 42 times with a Swiss-army-style pen knife, eventually severing an artery in his neck.

Such was the ferocity of the frenzied attack, that police initially believed Tracie's story - that they'd been the victims of a road-rage attack involving two men.

But during the now infamous press conference where Tracie appealed for the 'two men' to come forward while sat next to Lee's grieving mum Maureen, her story quickly started to unravel.

This week, 5 are finally showing their drama Under Suspicion: Tracie Andrews - Lover, Liar, Killer, ahead of the 30th anniversary of Lee's murder in December.

The hour-long true crime special sees actress Emma Rigby stepping into the shoes of the notorious killer.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, Emma, 37, reveals how she became 'all consumed' while playing evil Tracie that she hardly slept during filming, and at times felt terrified.

Lee was just 25 years old when he was murdered, and like Tracie, he too had a young daughter, Danielle. The couple had been returning home from the Marlbrook pub in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, to their home in Alvechurch, when Tracie viciously attacked him after he'd stopped his car along a quiet country lane.

Pictured: Tracie Andrews, the victim of an apparent 'road rage' attack in the Worcestershire village of Alvechurch in 1996

The 27-year-old mother-of-one violently stabbed her fiancé Lee Harvey, pictured, 42 times with a Swiss-army-style pen knife

Their volatile relationship had been marked by intense jealously, possessiveness and violent arguments, with Tracie having previously attacked Lee with a bottle.

Emma said: 'I couldn't sleep very well. I wasn't sleeping when we were shooting. I was kind of all consumed about her because she was such a complex character, I don't think I switched off much. I kept on continually reading about her, watching clips, listening to her voice, and trying to get into that zone. We are all quite empathetic and she doesn't have that quality.

'You want to bring that disconnect of that non-emotion. The coldness, it was important, sometimes when you play a role you can bring a sense of connection to it and a love for the character, but for this I didn't have anything for her. There was no moment where she tried to redeem herself and she never has to this day.'

Emma admits that she was terrified ahead of filming the horrific murder scene.

She said: 'As I was filming I was actually afraid and kept thinking about the horror that Lee had gone through that night, and when we shot the scene where Tracie attacks Lee, I remember shaking, there was so much adrenalin and I just couldn't stop thinking about poor Lee and how alone he must've felt.

For him to lay there dying while she did nothing highlights the brutality and total callousness of her crime.'

The actress, who joined teen soap Hollyoaks when she was just 15 years old, and went on to star in the BBC drama Prisoners' Wives, felt the pressure to make sure she got her portrayal of Tracie right - for Lee's devastated family.

Emma continues: 'It was the first time I'd played someone in real life, and it was so important, you have a responsibility because you're playing someone that took away Lee Harvey's life and destroyed everything for his family. I wanted to make sure that I showed people who she was.

Andrews was charged with the murder of Harvey was in the car with him at the time of the attack

'I don't want people to like her or feel sorry her, or sympathise her, we were showing a journey that was all her own actions and consequence of what she decided to do.

'I was really horrified personally, and the level of disconnect and lack of remorse, the idea that she was completely narcissistic and incredibly manipulative. She's quite terrifying, and I imagine for Lee that he was scared of her.

'He probably was, of what she might do, because we see the lengths that she goes to. Maureen said in her interview that Lee had threatened to leave her, and that she's said if I can't have you no-one else can either.'

One of the things that Emma knew she had to get right was the now infamous police press conference. Tracie appeared in front of the press with a black eye to appeal for Lee's 'killer' and the man that was with him, to come forward. As she described the killer as being a 'fat man with staring eyes' she pulled a face that was captured by photographers.

'We did quite a few takes but we got it,' she says. 'I remember our director being slightly terrified when I first did it! But it was so important. The staring eyes image, the face that she pulled during that press conference, that was the real moment where the facade of her as a victim dropped and you saw this unhinged part of her personality with that photo.

'The holes in her story which the press pointed out during the press conference, it really was this pivotal moment in the investigation where she transformed from victim to suspect.'

Writer and director Grant Armour used accounts from Lee's mum Maureen from her book Pure Evil, and spoke to Senior Investigating officer Ian Johnston to piece together everything that happened after Tracie called the police with her version of the events. As well as reading the news coverage and watching the police press conference.

He also tried to track down Tracie and reached out to her daughter Karla who was initially going to meet with him before changing her mind.

Tracie Andrews, accompanied by her solicitor Tim Robinson in 1997

Tracie Andrews arrives at Birmingham Crown Court before being found guilty of murdering her fiancee Lee Harvey

He said: 'We attempted to contact Tracie but it was very difficult to find her. We did actually make contact with her daughter, we were speaking with her and we were going to meet her but then she changed her mind and said didn't want to take part.

'Unfortunately we were not able to speak to Lee's mum Maureen. She's in her 80s now but we have spoken to Michelle, Lee's sister. I had a really invaluable call with the SIO Ian Johnston, who led the investigation, and he was able to divulge things that happened behind closed doors, different moments that we had no idea about.

'He was very helpful especially when it came to the interview under caution because we didn't have a transcript of that. It was based on his memories and the evidence, essentially it was a no comment interview but there was also this moment where Tracie almost confessed during the interview, we tried to bring that moment to life.'

Tracie was charged with Lee's murder on the 19th December 1996, just 16 days after that police press conference.

She was found guilty of murder during her month-long trial in July 1997 and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 14 years.

Fourteen years after her sentencing, she was released from Askham Grange Prison near York in 2011. Tracie had served the minimum term of her sentence.

She adopted the name Tia Carter and then Jenna Stephens, had surgery to alter her jawline and moved to a southern coastal town.

In 2017, she married bouncer Phil Goldsworthy, who she had met in the bar where she worked, and took the name Jenna Stephens Goldsworthy.

The hour-long special ends with Tracie telling police officers that she was more famous than Princess Diana following the public interest around Lee's brutal murder and her deception.

Grant said: 'It was in Maureen's book, that she'd told police officers that she was more famous than Princess Diana! When I heard that line, I wanted it to be the final line of the film, and I'm not giving anything away, but it feeds into her delusions and idea of fame.'

Under Suspicion: Tracie Andrews - Lover, Liar, Killer, airs on Wednesday at 9pm on Channel 5.

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