If you liked the series Black Doves on Netflix, you may have wondered how the screenwriter could have invented such a plot! It is in reality a real scandal which has caused a lot of noise across the Channel.
The plot of Black Doves, this old-fashioned thriller with Keira Knightley is not pure fiction! Joe Barton, the creator of the 98% recommended spy series, said that the duplicity of Helen’s character was inspired by real events that shook Britain during the “spy cops” scandal. The scandal revealed in 2023 revealed that some undercover police officers had spied on more than 1,000 political groups between 1968 and the 2010s. At least 139 agents had been sent to infiltrate mainly left-wing groups, on missions that generally lasted four years. At least 20 spies are said to have established relationships with women without revealing their true identities. The undercover agents joined political groups and posed as activists, but their real job was to collect information about activists and their protests and send secret reports to their superiors.
The Netflix series Black Doves is less “sombre” that the true story
“I had read about these spy cops, these guys who infiltrated an environmental group and ended up having kids.”said the creator of Black Doveswhich was renewed for a season 2 on Netflix. However, he believes that the true story which inspired him is “much darker” than that of the series. “This duplicity of a so-called marriage that lasts for years and fades away, I think that’s what inspired me”he added again.
According to the creator of Black DovesChristmas is “an ideal time to make a thriller”
Joe Barton was also inspired by the Christmas period. “I always wanted to stage something at Christmas […] but it’s actually a dark time of year for a lot of people, and literally a dark time of year.”he explained. Before adding: “There are all these contrasting ideas around the Christmas period, and so it seemed to me that it was a perfect time to make a thriller”. It was also during this period that he wrote the screenplay for Black Doves, “on a whim”the day after Christmas.
Article written in collaboration with 6Medias
