{"id":48016,"date":"2024-03-19T13:03:27","date_gmt":"2024-03-19T12:03:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=2011241"},"modified":"2024-03-19T14:40:58","modified_gmt":"2024-03-19T13:40:58","slug":"is-coma-based-on-a-true-story-inspiration-behind-channel-5-drama","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/is-coma-based-on-a-true-story-inspiration-behind-channel-5-drama\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Coma based on a true story? Inspiration behind Channel 5 drama"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is the new Channel 5 drama based on real events? <\/p>

By Morgan Cormack\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 19 March 2024 at 12:03 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Across this week, new Channel 5 drama Coma<\/a> is set to take viewers on quite the journey.<\/p>\n

Jason Watkins stars as family man Simon<\/a> in the new four-parter, which sees his character dealt quite a bad hand when it comes to life issues \u2013 Simon\u2019s job hangs in the balance, he wants to move away with his family and a group of teenagers have turned his idyllic little neighbourhood upside down with their antics.<\/p>\n

Making a split-second decision, Simon\u2019s world caves in further as he takes matters into his own hands when it comes to gang leader Jordan (Joe Barber), leading to a pretty messy fallout that is expected to unfold across the remaining episodes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But is the new drama based on a true story? Read on to find out.<\/p>\n

Is Channel 5\u2019s Coma based on a true story?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Jason\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Jason Watkins as Simon in Coma.<\/span><\/figcaption> Channel 5<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Coma is not based on a true story \u2013 but it is \u201cloosely based\u201d on something that happened to series creator and writer Ben Edwards.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking ahead of the release of the series, Edwards revealed in a press pack for the show: \u201cIt\u2019s loosely based on something that happened to me, although nothing as dramatic as what happens in Coma.<\/p>\n

\u201cA few years ago, when my daughter was a toddler, I took her to a local playground, and it had been vandalised. There were broken beer bottles all over the slides and it made me furious, it really got to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat night I was watching TV and I heard a noise outside. I looked out of the window and a group of lads aged about 16\/17 were smashing supermarket trollies into the wing mirrors of cars.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, I am an utter coward, but I totally lost it. I went out and started yelling at them and before I knew it, they were yelling back and surrounding me and I was thinking, \u2018This is getting out of control.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole thing ended in what I can only describe as an undignified scuffle<\/em>. Utterly pathetic. No one got hurt. They went away. I went back inside. My wife just said, \u2018What on earth were you thinking? Haven\u2019t you ever watched the news?\u2019 and that was the moment of inspiration.\u201d<\/p>

Edwards continued: \u201cThis was something I discussed with Alex Smith from Roughcut TV, the production company that made Coma. And together we set about creating the world and the characters.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started thinking about those times in life when you lose control.\u00a0 About a single moment that could change your life forever. We talked about those \u2018one punch killings\u2019 where a punch is swung, someone is knocked to the ground and bangs their head and either dies or has life changing injuries.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are, of course, a plethora of real-world issues in the new series that will feel relatable for many people.<\/p>\n

As we see unfold, Simon is faced with the prospect of redundancy and wants to move away after an increase in crime makes him and his wife Beth (Claire Skinner) feel unsafe in their area.<\/p>\n

\"Joe\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Joe Barber as Jordan in Coma.<\/span><\/figcaption> Channel 5 <\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

The show deals with themes like the cost of living crisis, policing and unemployment, and when chatting to RadioTimes.com<\/a> and other press about how \u201cpolitical\u201d Coma actually is<\/a>, Skinner admitted: \u201cIt absolutely is of our time.\u201d<\/p>\n

As we saw in episode 1, Beth makes a reference about the \u201cgood days\u201d of people clapping for the NHS as an overworked NHS worker herself.<\/p>\n

Watkins explained: \u201cIt\u2019s interesting, isn\u2019t it? If you look at recent successes and things like the Post Office programme [Mr Bates vs The Post Office<\/a>], which had such a huge impact [and] was absolutely bang on the nose about how a lot of us were feeling about the way that some companies are run or the state things are run. It is specific to the Post Office.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe obvious parallel is the NHS, isn\u2019t it? How we\u2019re all emotionally attached to the NHS and we want it to do better, but it\u2019s complex.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watkins added: \u201cThis is a thriller, but you want it to be real, so why not have some of the ideas that are floating around at the moment? That\u2019s a sign of a good writer, it\u2019s a sign of a mature script. So yes, you\u2019ve got a thriller, but Beth\u2026 that line about [the NHS].\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Claire\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Claire Skinner as Beth in Coma.<\/span><\/figcaption> Channel 5<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Skinner continued: \u201cClapping for the NHS, I liked it better \u2013 can we go back to the good old days when we just used to clap for the NHS? There are those comments, of course.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe premise of it is that these two people who have both got jobs, have both got fairly decent jobs, are desperate to get out of the area that they live in for somewhere safer to bring up their children.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aside from comments about the state of healthcare in the UK, there are plenty of other problems that the married couple are faced with in the series.<\/p>\n

Watkins said: \u201cOf course, you scratch the surface, and they\u2019ve had difficulty conceiving, they\u2019re slightly vulnerable in terms of money, and so we\u2019re on a slight knife edge.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not saying there\u2019s a crime epidemic, but because of the cost of living crisis, crime is up. Those really petty little crimes \u2013 scratching your car, turning the bins over and little stuff, it\u2019s just really annoying, I think, and when you\u2019re stressed from other things, those things get magnified.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s why we end up where we end up where Simon does.\u201d<\/p>\n