The Blame: Michelle Keegan reveals the real-life details behind ITV’s new crime drama
Michelle Keegan says she felt a real sense of responsibility while making The Blame, ITV’s new six-part crime thriller that draws on disturbing real-life examples of police misconduct.
The drama, which premiered on ITV on Sunday, September 20, sees Keegan play DI Emma Crane alongside Douglas Booth as DI Tom Radley. What begins as an investigation into the death of teenage figure skater Sophie Madsen soon takes the detectives into a much darker story involving misogyny, police misconduct, institutional cover-ups and abuse of power.
Keegan, who was born in Stockport and grew up in Irlam, Salford, leads the cast as Emma, a detective whose murder investigation increasingly forces her to question the people around her, including colleagues inside her own police station.
The story is set in the fictional town of Wakestead and centres on the detectives working at Wakestead Police Station. Emma and Tom initially believe they have identified their main suspect, but an unexpected lead changes the direction of the case.
As they pursue the truth, they uncover a network of lies and institutional cover-ups. For Emma, the investigation becomes increasingly personal as she begins to question who within her own team can be trusted. ITV describes the series as a combination of mystery, social commentary and love story.
The disturbing real-life material behind The Blame
One of the most striking aspects of The Blame is that some of the material surrounding police misconduct was not invented for the drama.
Executive producer Nicola Shindler explained that the production team researched real cases and had access to messages sent by police officers who had been involved in misconduct.
Those real messages helped shape the series, particularly its depiction of a secret WhatsApp group used by male officers. Emma is horrified when she gains access to the group and discovers offensive conversations about cases, along with sensitive photographs of victims.
Shindler said the production team deliberately kept the material as close to the real examples as possible. The reality, she suggested, was so shocking that inventing similar messages would have risked making them seem unbelievable.
The research also continued during filming. Although Charlotte Langley wrote the original novel some time ago, new stories involving police text messages and internal responses emerged while the series was being made.
Douglas Booth, who plays Tom Radley, pointed to the Charing Cross Panorama investigation as an important part of his research for the role.
The actors and production team were also conscious that the behaviour explored in the series is not necessarily limited to policing. Booth noted that while The Blame focuses specifically on misogyny and malpractice within a police environment, toxic behaviour and abuse of power can occur across different workplaces and industries.
Michelle Keegan’s character faces sexism from inside her own team
For Emma Crane, solving the murder is only part of the challenge.
As the investigation develops, she has to contend with a workplace culture in which male colleagues engage in misogynistic behaviour. The secret WhatsApp group becomes a particularly disturbing discovery because of the material being shared and the attitudes expressed by officers who are supposed to protect the public.
That element of the story was important to Keegan, who said she felt a responsibility in taking on the role.
Her hope is that the series will encourage conversations about behaviour in the workplace and make people feel more comfortable speaking up when something is wrong.
The production also brought in a female police adviser named Lisa to help the cast portray police work realistically.
Keegan and her co-stars also watched 24 Hours in Police Custody as part of their preparation. She described watching the documentary series as becoming addictive during their research.
A thriller first, with serious themes underneath
Despite the heavy subject matter, Booth stressed that The Blame was made first and foremost as a television thriller.
The drama is designed to keep viewers following the murder investigation and its characters, while allowing the themes surrounding misogyny, corruption and misconduct to emerge naturally through the story.
Booth said he did not want the series to feel as though it was simply delivering a message to viewers. Instead, he hoped audiences would become invested in the characters and the mystery, then take something away from the issues explored along the way.
Shindler made a similar point. The series, she said, is intended to be entertaining enough to make viewers want to continue watching while also giving them reasons to think about what they have seen.
That balance is central to the adaptation of Charlotte Langley’s debut novel. The story repeatedly shifts direction, making it difficult to know who can be trusted or exactly what is happening beneath the surface.
Michelle Keegan and Douglas Booth lead the cast
Alongside Keegan and Booth, the series features Ian Hart as DCI Kenneth Walker, Nathan Mensah as DC Lewis, Nigel Boyle as digital forensic technician Brett Shergill, Joe Armstrong as ice-skating coach Kyle Frasier and Matilda Freeman as Sophie Madsen.
Gavin Spokes, Josh Bolt, Ceallach Spellman and Karen Ascoe are also part of the Wakestead Police team, playing DC Joel Stevens, DC Douglas James, PC Callum Drummond and PC Kat Shaw respectively.
The six-part drama was produced by Quay Street Productions for ITV. Megan Gallagher developed the novel for television and serves as lead writer and executive producer, working with co-writers Ashley Sanders and Namsi Khan. Bex Rycroft directed episodes one to three, while Claire Tailyour directed episodes four to six.
The original novel, also titled The Blame, was written by Charlotte Langley.
When is The Blame on ITV?
The Blame began on ITV on Sunday, September 20, with the second episode following on Monday, September 21. The complete six-part series is also available as a box set on ITVX.
The series is now streaming on ITVX, where the six episodes follow Emma and Tom as their investigation increasingly turns towards their own police team.
Watch the trailer
ITV has released an official YouTube trailer for The Blame, featuring Michelle Keegan and Douglas Booth as DI Emma Crane and DI Tom Radley.