The Suspect team reveals how real-life murders impacted series
"With the Sarah Everard case and Sabina Nessa… We all know how it feels to be a woman at the moment with things like that happening."
The cast and crew behind ITV's The Suspect have revealed how real-life murder cases impacted the way they approached the series.
The psychological thriller stars Aidan Turner as Doctor Joe O'Loughlin, a clinical psychologist who finds himself supporting an investigation into the mysterious death of a young woman.
Over the series, his perfect life begins to unravel and he embarks on a journey that takes him into "the darkest recesses of the human mind", according to the synopsis.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com and other press at a Q&A ahead of the show's launch, series star Anjli Mohindra said she looked at real murder cases as part of her research into her character, a female police officer.
She referenced the murders of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa, who were both killed in 2021.
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"I focused in on what it would feel like to be a woman dealing with a case like this – with the Sarah Everard case and Sabina Nessa… I mean, we all know how it feels to be a woman in this country or on this planet at the moment with things like that happening.
"It was nice that we got to play those moments where you see how a woman police officer would react to a crime like that," she said.
Executive producer Jake Lushington added that the series "won't shy away from the story", and will set out to "humanise the victim and how she's talked about".
He said: "You can take shortcuts into [the] genre and forget what it's like for the audience, what the reality of what we're talking about is, and while we won't shy away from the story and who it's about, we've had extensive conversations about wanting to humanise the victim and how she's talked about, but also make sure that the idea of the crime is not something that the audience would take for granted, because it's ‘another murder mystery’.
"I think we've gone beyond that a little bit. Without getting too preachy, I think the audience is on a slightly different emotional level and I think us in television need to catch up and listen."
Director James Strong said: "It's about being responsible and being aware of what's the bigger picture – we shot a version of it and then we went back and went further. It has to be done properly, and acknowledged what's happening and how many times it's happening. We can't get used to it."
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Lushington added that the series was made "a lot richer" by fleshing out female characters on-screen, including Mohindra's police officer.
"That’s something that I think has become enhanced from the original novel – all the female characters have quite interesting voices and interesting POVs. It was a completely male piece to start with. It's actually made it a lot richer as a piece."
The Suspect will air on ITV next month.
Additional reporting by Morgan Jeffery.
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