New ITV drama Karen Pirie is well underway and many have been enjoying the series so far but is the show a true story? Here's what we know…
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While ITV has churned out some brilliant dramas based on real events in recent months - The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe and Anne, to name just two - it seems as though the story that takes place in Karen Pirie does not hold any truth - but it isn't entirely original.
WATCH: Outlander's Lauren Lyle leads the cast in new ITV drama, Karen Pirie
The series, which comes from producers of Line of Duty and Bodyguard, World Productions, is based on the best-selling novel by Val McDermid about the titular young Scottish female detective set in the beautiful Scottish university town of St. Andrew's.
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McDermid's distinctive writing, which has been dubbed Tartan Noir, has previously been adapted for TV with Wire in the Blood, starring Robson Green, and Traces, starring Martin Compston, being based on her stories.
Lauren Lyle leads the cast of the gripping new detective drama
It appears that Karen Pirie's first season has been based on the novel in the series, The Distant Echo and fans of the show will be pleased to hear that there are six novels in the series - and possibly more on the way. The most recent case for Inspector Pirie, titled Still Life, was published in 2020.
Meanwhile, Outlander star Lauren Lyle who takes on the lead role has revealed that she did take inspiration from a real-life officer when it came to embodying the character.
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"It was really interesting when we were filming, we started at St Andrews Cathedral and one night we had police escorts with us," she said. "One of them was a twenty-something blonde woman, and it turns out she was a detective from Methil, the same tiny town Karen is from! To me, she was the real Karen Pirie."
"So we exchanged numbers and we stayed in touch, it was like looking into a mirror for Karen."
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