Victims of the Yorkshire Ripper today hit out at programme makers after it was revealed ITV is planning to air a drama documentary charting the police hunt for the killer.

The four-part series, entitled This Is Personal, will be the first-ever drama about Bradford lorry driver Peter Sutcliffe, who murdered 13 women in the 1970s.

And the Telegraph & Argus can exclusively reveal that a second drama is being planned by Channel Four who have declined to talk abut the project.

Granada, which has produced the scripts, has been desperately trying to keep the project under wraps, fearing a backlash the public.

But Denise Long - the daughter of Bradford pensioner Maureen Long who survived a brutal attack by Sutcliffe in 1977 - today confirmed the programme's producers visited her last week to discuss the series.

And grandmother Olive Smelt, one of the few women to have survived an attack by the Ripper, said a representative from Granada had phoned to let her know about the series.

Mrs Smelt, from Halifax, said: "I certainly haven't given my blessing to it, but they'll go ahead and make it anyway because they've never listened to anything the victims and their relatives have had to say.

"I don't know why they bothered asking. I think this programme will only serve to put Sutcliffe back into the spotlight, but it seems my view doesn't count."

The drama documentary will look at the police hunt for the Ripper from the view of the former head of West Yorkshire CID George Oldfield.

He was in charge of the investigation for five years but was taken off the case in 1980. He died in 1985, but has since been blamed by relatives of some of the victims for his handling of the inquiry.

Mrs Smelt said: "He came in for a lot of criticism. I am sure ordinary members of the public don't know the half of what went on during the investigation, but I still don't want to see the programme made."

A source close to the Ripper's family said the the film would cause pain to the Sutcliffe family, saying: "They also think about the victims. The ones who died have families and there are those who survived. It can't be forgotten, but every time something happens it brings it back to everyone."

He said Sutcliffe had put on weight after spending a year in a hospital after being stabbed in the eye. He said: "He wasn't able to exercise at that time and, of course, he's getting older."

The murders will not be recreated but the series will show their aftermath. And Sutcliffe will not be the main character, although he will be seen being questioned and released by police.

A spokesman for Granada said: "This is not in any way a piece of sensationalist programme making. It is the product of many years of research. None of the murders will be shown and Peter Sutcliffe will be in no way glorified."

But Gerry Sutcliffe, MP for Bradford South says the drama documentary will serve no useful purpose.

He said: "Peter Sutcliffe is serving a multiple life sentence for these crimes and rightly so. Whatever lessons needed to be learned in terms of the police investigation have been learned.

"We have had a spate of programmes all seeking to capitalise on tragedies such as Hillsborough or the West killings. This programme will bring pain to many people, especially those who survived the Ripper's attacks."

He added that although it was not the place of the Government to bring in legislation stopping such programmes he would raise the matter as soon as possible with Home Secretary Jack Straw.

Sutcliffe is currently in Broadmoor serving a life sentence with no chance of parole.

The Channel Four production is also centred on the late police chief George Oldfield, and is understood to have been prepared with the co-operation of his family.

A complete film-length script has been commissioned and written, and the project has been delivered to Channel Four, which is treating it as confidential.

The as-yet untitled script has been three years in development. A former producer of Emmerdale and The Bill has acted as a consultant.

The drama's premise is that Mr Oldfield was himself a "victim" of Ripper Peter Sutcliffe.

It is understood that the producers of the two rival TV projects have been aware of each other's existence, but have been operating independently.

A spokesman for Channel Four declined to comment on programmes in development.

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