How did gun crime inspire hit BBC drama Sherwood?

The instrumentality of BBC bid Sherwood has erstwhile again had viewers gripped.

The hard-hitting, gritty play focuses connected weapon transgression and gangs successful post-industrial Nottingham.

But immoderate viewers person taken to societal media to statement the credibility of its opening plotlines.

Warning: This nonfiction contains spoilers from episodes of the 2nd series

Sherwood is written by the award-winning Nottinghamshire playwright, James Graham.

It opens with a disclaimer. The play is "inspired by stories and events" successful the author's community, but "all characters and events person been fictionalised".

I person been covering those real-life transgression stories for the BBC successful Nottingham for much than 2 decades.

Much of the latest bid of Sherwood feels strikingly familiar.

Some plotlines echo headlines from the aboriginal 2000s erstwhile the tabloids branded Nottingham arsenic "Shottingham" and "Assassination City".

Gun transgression spiralled retired of power amid murders, revenge and constabulary corruption.

So however intimately does the fictional crippled of Sherwood bespeak those real-life characters and crimes?

Oliver Huntingdon plays a volatile caller character, Ryan Bottomley, who sparks a rhythm of revenge by shooting and sidesplitting the lad of a notorious criminal.

Ryan's quality mirrors Michael O'Brien, who was jailed for the fatal shooting of Marvyn Bradshaw extracurricular the Sporting Chance pub successful Bulwell, Nottingham, successful August 2003.

O'Brien's intended people was believed to person been Marvyn's teenage friend, Jamie Gunn, who was successful the aforesaid car.

Jamie was the nephew of a notorious Nottingham transgression brag called Colin Gunn, and died of pneumonia a twelvemonth aboriginal aft going into a spiral of decline.

As O'Brien was sentenced successful 2004, helium shouted maltreatment astatine Marvyn's household who were sitting successful the nationalist gallery. The fictional Ryan successful Sherwood did the aforesaid thing.

Ryan's adopted mother, Pam Bottomley, and her brother, Dennis, are played by Sharlene Whyte and David Harewood.

The fictional Bottomleys' communicative successful Sherwood intimately mirrors what happened to Michael O'Brien's guiltless parent and stepfather, Joan and John Stirland, 2 decades ago.

The Stirlands fled their location successful Nottingham aft shots were fired done their beforehand window.

Then successful August 2004, the mates were changeable dormant by 2 hitmen successful their seaside bungalow astatine Trusthorpe connected the Lincolnshire coast.

They were traced to Trusthorpe by Colin Gunn, 1 of 3 men who were jailed for life for conspiracy to execution the Stirlands. The 2 gunmen were ne'er caught.

In Sherwood, Pam Bottomley tries to rise concerns with her constabulary interaction soon earlier the couple's murder. That telephone is intercepted by an serviceman who lies to her and does not walk connected those concerns.

Could that fictional serviceman beryllium inspired by a corrupt detective who fed quality to Colin Gunn and was paid successful decorator suits?

Det Con Charles Fletcher searched for confidential accusation astir Gunn lone 2 days earlier the Stirlands were changeable dormant successful Trusthorpe.

He had besides searched for quality astir the Stirlands' erstwhile code successful Nottingham aft shots were fired done their window.

The erstwhile detective was jailed for 7 years aft being caught by interior investigators who bugged him astatine a Nottingham constabulary station.

Lorraine Ashbourne returns to Sherwood arsenic Daphne Sparrow, the matriarch of a transgression household who had been an undercover constabulary serviceman during the miners' strike.

Nottinghamshire's notorious real-life "spycop" had a precise antithetic screen story.

Mark Kennedy was a joined Metropolitan Police serviceman who spent 7 years posing arsenic an biology activist.

Kennedy infiltrated Nottingham's Sumac Centre, and formed intimate relationships with respective women nether his alias, Mark Stone.

He was unmasked successful 2010 aft a proceedings collapsed, erstwhile it emerged that Kennedy was portion of a radical accused of plotting to unopen down Ratcliffe-on-Soar powerfulness presumption successful Nottinghamshire.

That prompted akin revelations astir different officers, which led to a large nationalist enquiry into undercover policing.

David Morrisey's character, Ian St Clair, has near his occupation arsenic a elder constabulary serviceman and present heads up Sherwood's fictional "Violence Intervention Team".

His storyline reflects the careers of respective real-life erstwhile constabulary officers aft they near the Nottinghamshire force.

David Wakelin went connected to caput the section Violence Reduction Unit, which supported susceptible young radical to deter them from superior crime.

Another erstwhile Nottinghamshire constabulary officer, Gary Godden, is present the section constabulary and transgression commissioner.

Mr Godden precocious told the BBC that bully policing is not conscionable astir enforcement. The fictional Ian St Clair utilized an almost-identical enactment successful Sherwood.

If you've been watching Sherwood, you'll cognize determination are wide differences betwixt those existent events and the storyline that it inspired.

The fictional crippled and characters person taken this play to a precise antithetic place.

But it is shining a airy connected wherefore Nottingham went done specified acheronian times each those years ago.

And it raises a elemental question: Is information alien than fiction?