The Virtues on Channel 4: Is the Virtues based on a true story?
Channel 4 will air episode two of The Virtues tonight (Wednesday, May 22). The Virtues, created by This is England director Shane Meadows, has left many fans wondering if the series is based on a true story due to how true to life the story of Joseph (played by Stephen Graham) seemed. Shane Meadows has spoken to Channel 4 about the true story behind The Virtues.
Is The Virtues based on a true story?
Although Joseph is a fictional character going through fictional events, Meadows has said in interviews that the series is based on his own life.
He told Channel 4: “I’d suffered on-and-off with anxiety and depression for a lot of my adult life.
“In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s I’d tried to keep it at bay by going out clubbing, doing things you shouldn’t be doing etc.
“But the anxiety and depression stayed with me and I realised the route of all this was something in my past that I hadn’t really acknowledged, let alone properly dealt with.
“So, the essence of Joe’s journey was borne out of me discovering that things that happen to you as a kid can be so traumatic that you can completely push them out of your mind as some kind of survival mechanism.
“About four or five years ago I started seeing someone professionally and was able to at least get to the bottom of what was causing my issues, but came out of it fairly angry because my life had been so affected by this one traumatic event.”
Similarly, Joseph learns more about his difficult past as he connects with his estranged family.
How he deals with this is also inspired by Meadows’ own past.
The BAFTA-winning writer said: “Ultimately, it was always going to be about a choice for Joseph to reap revenge or find it in his heart to forgive.
“I had that choice to make myself before we began The Virtues.”
He later added: “So it became both a way for me to turn a damaging event in my childhood into something positive, while at the same time shine a light on how deeply childhood trauma, abuse and neglect can affect us in our adult lives and hopefully bring some comfort to other people affected by it.”
Although The Virtues is inspired by Meadows’ own experiences, the drama itself is largely improvised.
Stephen Graham said of this: “We have a rough idea of what may happen, and then we have certain kind of beats that we need to hit in the scene, and things we need to mention to help our story move along.
“But then it’s open to the interpretation of all of us, and whatever happens after that, happens after that.”
The actor, who recently appeared in Line of Duty, said that he did some research into real life cases of abuse in the lead up to filming The Virtues.
He said: “Some heavy stuff actually – I looked into kids who had been abused, and how it affects them.”
Readers affected by the issues raised in this article or The Virtues can visit the Channel 4 website for support.
The Virtues continues tonight at 9pm on Channel 4
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