Is Sherwood based on a true story?

Picking up where season 1 left off, season 2 continues to shine a light on further divides within the community, and local gangs, the local government and social services.

Although it told a fictional story, the first season very much had its roots in real events.

But is the same true of the second instalment? Read on to find out about whether the latest instalment of Sherwood is based on a true story.

Is Sherwood season 2 based on a true story?

The first season of Sherwood was inspired by real life events, namely the way that a former Nottinghamshire mining community was rocked by two grisly killings in 2004 and led to a massive manhunt involving police officers from around the country.

While the first season was inspired by these two real-life killings that took place in Nottinghamshire, season 2 of Sherwood is not based on a true story and is entirely fictionalised.

Speaking about the real-life stories that inspired the second season, series creator and writer James Graham said: "It is essentially the same formula in that it is inspired by the area that I grew up in, in the East Midlands, but I have used more creative license this series and it is even more fictionalised than the first.

"I've taken inspiration from many, many events within Nottinghamshire across multiple timeframes to create a brand-new fictional story."

He continued: "I hope it will have resonance because it is inspired by periods in which the area faced very high levels of crime and violence, including when Nottingham was termed ‘Shottingham’, and other dark periods.

"It being more of a fictional work liberated me to move the characters we know from series ones forward, and I hope that people will enjoy it as a piece of drama but be able to see the impact of such industrial and political and socioeconomic factors."

So, while there will be topical issues and themes brought up in this second season, no character or plot line has been based on a specific person or case.

Speaking about creating a story for season 2, Graham also said: "It’s my first ever returning series, I’ve only ever completed my stories in a single series and never had to come back, so that was something new but that wasn’t really a challenge.

"It felt like a privilege and a joy because I really like these characters, especially because they, and this series, matter so much to me, because they are inspired by my hometown, and so – while they are fictional – in a way their voice is the voice of family and friends."

Sherwood season 1 true story explained

Fans of the series will know that Sherwood season 1 was also a fictionalised account, but it did draw heavily on the real-life events that ripped apart the local community.

Sherwood season 1 was inspired by two real manhunts that took place simultaneously in 2004 Nottingham, while also exploring 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, on the release of season 1, previously 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 first season focused 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 first season also explored the Met's response to the incidents, too, unearthing local tensions that dated back to the '80s miner strikes.

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 Ian St Clair in the drama, previously discussed the "outrageous" nature of these 'spy cops' during an interview with Radio Times magazine at the time of season 1's release.

Asked about 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 season 2 launches with a bank holiday double bill on Sunday 25th August and Monday 26th August at 9pm, on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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