The last time crime commentator Emma Kenny was in Aberdeen three years ago, she was shocked to see a room full of people coming to see her show.
It was one of the first gigs she had ever done, and when she saw the sea of faces at Pittodrie Stadium, she struggled to believe her eyes.
And it’s a feeling that has never really gone away.
“I’m still shocked that anybody comes, genuinely,” Emma said.
“It’s just breathtaking for me. People turned up, the room was full and it was one of the loveliest times I’ve had.
“And coming back to do it at a big theatre in Aberdeen is just insane to me because that demonstrates how it’s been in the last few years.”
Emma Kenny’s journey in recent years
The leading crime commentator, known from appearances like presenting Britain’s Darkest Taboos or as a resident therapist on ITV’s This Morning, is back in the city hosting her show The Serial Killer Next Door at the Music Hall on Tuesday, November 26.
However, when Covid hit, everything changed when the psychological therapist did not hold back her views.
She said: “I was very vocal about not locking down children with predators because it leads to homicide.
“That didn’t go very well in the world of the general media because there was a very clear narrative about what you were allowed to say.
“The thing is, when you’ve worked with children who’ve been horribly abused, you don’t care about whether people think it’s okay what you say, you care about children who are abused.”
Emma changed direction and started creating crime commentary from home on YouTube. When her audience grew, it then led to creating a podcast, writing a book and doing a tour.
Surprisingly she found a sense of freedom in her work as she was able to be the “real” Emma.
No longer seen as the TV mental health person or agony aunt, she added: “I think what people see me as more now is Emma.
“I can actually really be me in that and I’ve just been really grateful.”
Why are 80% of watchers of true crime content women?
In the last few years, interest in consuming content on true crime and serial killers has catapulted.
And surprisingly, the majority of those watching the content are women.
But Emma said it is not for the reasons most people think.
“I think that what is often peddled is incorrect, which is that somehow women are voyeurs of this, and we just have this morbid fascination,” she said.
“That isn’t what plays out in research. What plays out in the research is that women are interested in it for a range of reasons, because it’s about 80% women compared to 20% men who are watching particular serial killer stuff.
“Women, we want to figure out ‘What would I do in that situation?’
“Because unfortunately, we’re the ones who get killed far more often in these situations. So we want to rehearse that.
“Also, women tend to score higher on emotional empathy ability, which means that we’re just nice. And we want to figure out, how the hell did this happen?
“How do we stop this from happening to other people, and how do we share this story?”
The Serial Killer Next Door with Emma Kenny in Aberdeen
Aware of these areas of fascination and the importance of them, Emma digs a little deeper in her show into the background of killers.
And as is hinted at in the name, answering the question: would you know if you were living next door to a serial killer?
“We also explore how to prevent yourself from being a victim,” she said.
“I do a test as well which is quite fun, and people are usually excited to take part in that.”
She added: “But most of all, it’s a night that is very much about crime, but it’s also interspersed, I hope, with some humorous experiences as well.
“So that people don’t feel at the end of the night like they’ve got the drudgery of the world around them.
“Instead, they feel like they’ve had a good night out.”
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