Is Innocent season 2 based on a true story?

18 May 2021, 19:52

Innocent season 2 is not based on a true story. Picture: ITV

Is Sally Wright a real person or is Innocent made up? Here's what we know about series 2 of the ITV drama...

Innocent is back on our screens with a brand new series starring the likes of Katherine Kelly and Jamie Bamber.

The story follows schoolteacher Sally Wright who allegedly had an affair with her 16-year-old pupil, Matty Taylor.

When the boy is brutally stabbed, Sally is convicted of his murder before evidence emerges that allows her to be released from prison.

But as we sit down to watch the drama unfold, viewers have been wondering whether Innocent season 2 is based on a true story or whether it is fictional.

Well, here’s what we know…

Katherine Kelly stars as Sally Wright in Innocent. Picture: ITV

Is Innocent season 2 based on a true story?

It seems as though Innocent season two is not based on a true story and all the characters are fictional.

Although the series isn't inspired by one single event, screenwriter Chris Lang said he gets advice from a police officer to make things as realistic as possible.

Speaking to Heart.co.uk and other press, Chris said: “We always have a police officer on hand.

“He actually retired six months ago, but I just spent all the writing process firing him questions at him.

“Hopefully we get most of it right, it’s a fine balance between making a documentary and a drama but most of the time it’s pretty accurate.”

Amy-Leigh Hickman as Bethany in Innocent. Picture: ITV

While the new series features a brand new story, it is based on the same concept as season 1: is the protagonist innocent, or guilty?

Opening up about his inspiration behind the idea, co-writer Matt Arlidge said reading about ‘miscarriages of justice’ in the news led him and Chris to start exploring the impact of these judgements.

Series one centred around a man called David Collins (Lee Ingleby), who was convicted of murdering his wife Tara, but after serving seven years in prison, he was acquitted on a legal technicality.

Speaking about the story at the time, he told Drama Quarterly in 2018: "If David’s telling the truth, it means there’s a killer out there.

“There’s someone who’s killed and got away with it, and that’s something we were always interested in exploring.

“On the one hand, what’s it like to be imprisoned for a crime you didn’t commit? But conversely, if you did commit murder and get away with it and lived with it for eight years, what’s that like?”

Now read: Innocent cast: How old is Katherine Kelly and who did she play in Coronation Street?