Black Doves creator explains how real-life spy cops inspired Netflix thriller
Joe Barton lifts the lid on his latest project.
Joe Barton has opened up about the real-life inspiration behind his new Netflix thriller, Black Doves.
The six-part espionage series follows Helen (Pride and Prejudice’s Keira Knightley), who has a passionate affair with a man who gets caught in the middle of London’s criminal underworld.
Helen is a politician's wife who at first glance is the perfect hostess, loving mother and dutiful wife beside her husband and MP Wallace Webb (Andrew Buchan).
However, in reality, Helen is a super spy living a double life, as she is also a member of the Black Doves, a spy organisation that would rival even James Bond’s 007 programme.
Barton revealed that Helen’s duplicity was inspired by real-life events that shook Britain in the 'spy cops' scandal.
“I had been reading as well about those spy cops, those guys, and they infiltrated that environmental group and had ended up having children with it," he said. "I mean, a really horrific story, much darker than this.
“But I was like, OK, that idea, that duplicitousness of having a pretend marriage lasting years and years and years and then it's disappeared. That was really part of, I think, the inspiration for it as well.”
The so-called spy cops were a top-secret unit of the Metropolitan Police who had spent decades living in alter egos, forming relationships and even having children in their fake lives, all while working as an undercover cop.
Barton also tested out a “few different jobs initially” for Helen, before he landed on a politician's wife being the perfect cover for her operation.
“I think there was one where she was a journalist, well a pretend journalist, but she has to be close to power,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the festive spin on this classic spy thriller was partly due to the time Barton was writing the show, but also his love of the contrast that Christmas provides.
“I always wanted to set something at Christmas, I haven't managed to do it really before,” he shares. “It's so sugary and cheerful, but actually quite a dark time of year for many people, and literally a dark time of year. It's all these contrasting ideas around it so it seemed like quite a natural time to set a thriller.”
Read more:
- Black Doves review: Brilliant spies, bland conspiracy in Keira Knightley thriller
- Happy Valley's Sarah Lancashire is cuttingly cool in new Black Doves trailer
Though there was no one source of inspiration, in fact, Barton says he wrote it on a “whim” during some downtime on Boxing Day.
“I'd had a couple of different ideas floating around my head, like I'd been wanting to do something spy-esque,” he added. "I had this idea about these two characters that were friends and I had a few different scenes in my head.
“Everyone was away, I had a few hours so I just started writing it. I ended up writing pretty solidly for a week and finishing it on New Year's Day."
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Black Doves is available to stream on Netflix from 5th December 2024. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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