New BBC drama Sherwood arrives later this month, exploring the impact of undercover officers in ’80s Britain, with flashbacks interwoven with two real-life manhunts in 2004.
A teaser synopsis of the show reads: “Inspired in part by real events, set in a Nottinghamshire mining village at the heart of Sherwood lie two shocking and unexpected killings that shatter an already fractured community and spark a massive manhunt.
“As suspicion and antipathy build – both between lifelong neighbours and towards the police forces who descend on the town – the tragic killings threaten to inflame historic divisions sparked during the miners’ strike three decades before.
“Sherwood is at once a compelling, contemporary crime drama that explores for the first time the controversial deployment of so-called ‘spycops’ around Britain, and a distinctly human story of a community forced to re-examine the terrible events of decades ago, for which it still bears the scars.”
Read on for the true story behind Sherwood.
Is Sherwood based on a true story?
Sherwood is inspired by two real manhunts that took place simultaneously in 2004 Nottingham, while also exploring the the fractured local community.
The drama is penned by James Graham, who grew up in a “red wall” town in the same area and who. has said, at a press Q&A attended by RadioTimes.com, that he wanted to “try and give voice” to his hometown in writing Sherwood.
The series focuses on the real manhunts of Robert Boyer, who had killed ex-miner Keith Frogson before fleeing to the local area’s woods, and secondly Terry Rodgers, who had killed his daughter Chanel and also fled to the same woods.
The series also explores the Met’s response to the incidents, too, unearthing local tensions that date back to the ’80s miner strikes.
![""]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2022/06/380887-20d0e66.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"\"")
Elsewhere, the six-parter delves into the Met’s deployment of so-called ‘spy-cops’: undercover officers who weren’t infiltrating terrorist organisations, but real-life communities.
David Morrissey, who plays DCS Ian St Clair in the drama, previously discussed the “outrageous” nature of these ‘spy cops’ during an interview with Radio Times magazine.
Asked how he thought police were represented in the drama, he said: “It’s important for me to play the individual but when they start to uncover things about ‘spy cops’, Ian is just as thrown as anybody else.”
He added: “We’ve seen undercover operations within criminal and terrorist organisations in dramas like Line of Duty.
“But the idea that there were undercover officers inside legal organisations eavesdropping on conversations, feeding back information and sometimes having relationships with people without telling them who they really were, is outrageous. And it’s something that we need to really look at, right here, right now.”
Sherwood will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide or visit our dedicated Drama hub for the latest news.
The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now – subscribe now and get the next 12 issues for only £1. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times podcast with Jane Garvey.