Deadly arrows have been flying around in Nottingham – no, don’t make any Robin Hood jokes please, the villagers of TV’s Sherwood do not appreciate it.
The BBC1 drama turns the folklore into a compelling murder mystery, delving into a community broken by a long history of the rich robbing the poor – and not a green feathered cap in sight (actually Sunetra Sarker’s Sheriff of Nottingham does wear one in episode one, but it’s more Marks & Spencer than Kevin Costner).
The six-part thriller, in a weekly double dose, focuses on two shocking murders, a fractured neighbourhood and a massive manhunt – all drawing on real-life events.
Writer James Graham grew up in the Nottinghamshire mining district of Ashfield, where two horrible murders took place in 2004, inspiring this fictional tale.
The result is a wonderful mix of Broadchurch-style small-town whodunit, and also a whydunit, that simmers with political tension dating back decades.
An extraordinary wishlist cast takes this story and runs with it. David Morrissey, Joanne Froggatt, Robert Glenister, Alun Armstrong, Lesley Manville, Kevin Doyle, Adeel Akhtar, Claire Rushbrook, Lorraine Ashbourne, Stephen Tompkinson… every scene is an “Oh, they’re in it!” moment.
It opens with archive footage of the 1980s miners’ strike featuring union leader Arthur Scargill and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, immediately reminding us of a painful moment in history.
Back in the present, in a former pit village, it’s a time of celebration (never a good sign in a TV drama) as local Tory councillor Sarah Vincent (Froggatt) marries Neel Fisher (Bally Gill).
But the murder of former striking miner Gary Jackson (Armstrong) – with an arrow through the heart – brings tension.
Local-boy-done-good DCS Ian St Clair (Morrissey) is called to investigate, discovering many suspects and motives.
Special mention for a notoriously dodgy clan called the Sparrows and a teenager whose hobby is archery.
In the second episode, there’s friction between Tory Sarah and her new father-in-law Andy (Akhtar), who proudly displays a Labour poster in his window.
He’s a grieving widower, who nearly had a run-in with an arrow, while she is irritated by his mere presence.
When Sarah snipes that his wife killed herself because she was “dying inside”, he grabs one of her expensive new garden spades and whacks her over the head.
In reality, a crossbow killing of ex-miner Keith Frogson was followed 11 days later by newly-wed Chanel Taylor being shot by her abusive father.
A multi-layered drama, with several sub-plots, two grisly killings and one foot firmly in a troubled past, this is chilling, clever and unmissable.
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@trinitymirror.com or call us direct 0207 29 33033.
