Sherwood creator reveals the reason behind plot revelation in episode one
Are you watching Sherwood? The brand new drama from the BBC premiered on Monday evening and many were glued to their boxsets watching the story unfold.
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The series, which stars David Morrissey, Lesley Manville and Joanne Froggatt to name a few, tells the story of a double murder which shakes a town in Nottingham to its core.
WATCH: The official trailer for BBC's Sherwood
But many might have been surprised by the ending of the first episode when the killer was exposed. The script was loosely based on a real murder case which occurred in Annesley Woodhouse in 2004, and it seems the creator, James Graham, wanted to be sensitive to the truth.
Warning! Potential spoilers ahead…
In a press Q&A before the series landed on BBC One, James stated the killer was to be revealed early on to shift the focus away from a murder mystery.
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David Morrissey as Detective St. Claire and Terence Maynard as Sargeant Cleaver
"We never saw this, I don't think, as a whodunit because that felt, frankly, distasteful," he explained, adding: "That's not the question at the heart of it, so that's why we show you the killer at the end of the first episode.
"What was more interesting to us to explore was the impact on a community that something like this can have. Especially a community where there were social and political tensions, and as you identify with them."
Meanwhile, viewers were overall impressed with episode one but did have an issue with one element. Some were left distracted by one character referring to Nottingham Forest as "Notts Forest" towards the start of the programme.
Lesley Manville also stars
One person took to Twitter, writing: "#Sherwood three minutes into drama and it loses its cred by a local calling Nottm Forest Notts Forest. A big no no, even a Londoner like myself knows," while another added: "Quite enjoyed #Sherwood but 'Notts Forest'…. Oof."
A third agreed, tweeting: "Just catching up with Sherwood #Sherwood. Great start apart from… we never say Notts Forest."
A fourth said: "Feeling very offended that they called us "Notts forest" on the new episode of #Sherwood, it's NOTTINGHAM FOREST!!! Other than that, great first episode."
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