From Real-Life Shock to BBC Drama
BAFTA-award-winning writer and actor Nicôle Lecky has revealed the startling real-life inspiration behind her forthcoming BBC drama, Wild Cherry. The series, which premieres on Saturday 15th November at 9pm on BBC One, was shaped by Lecky's conversations with teenagers from private schools, where she learned about incidents that included girls drinking morphine.
An Eye-Opening Research Process
Lecky, 35, whose previous work includes the acclaimed series Mood, deliberately sought authenticity for her new project. 'I always like to go to the source when I'm writing something,' she told Metro. Having been raised in Stratford, East London, by an electrician father and a mental health nurse mother, the world of private schooling was entirely foreign to her.
Her research proved to be 'eye-opening'. She spoke with teenagers, including some boarders, to understand their experiences. 'There's a scene where they drink morphine – that came from one of the teenagers I spoke to… there was an incident,' Lecky disclosed, contrasting it with her own school days where she recalled nothing of the sort.
Exploring Privilege, Danger, and Secret Lives
Wild Cherry is a coming-of-age story set in the fictional, affluent town of Richford Lake. It follows a group of young women at a local private school navigating the complexities of money, privilege, and their journey into adulthood.
The drama delves deeply into the ever-complex mother-daughter relationship, questioning how much freedom is too much. A significant modern threat explored in the series is the use of 'ghost apps' – applications disguised as innocent tools like calculators, which can be dangerous in the wrong hands.
In the show, the girls gain access to these apps, leading to a worrying chain of events as they share increasingly explicit content. When their mothers are informed, it is revealed that the parents have their own hidden secrets.
Lecky herself stars in the series as an American life coach, a wannabe 'MOD' (mother-of-daughter), who is the new partner of a widowed father in the neighbourhood. As a late-comer to the social circle, she exists on the periphery of the group of mothers. However, through therapy sessions with one of the children, she becomes privy to confidential information about the women and their personal lives.
Lecky's Journey to Success
The path to creating Wild Cherry was a long one for Lecky. She was signed by an acting agent at 18, but it took over 12 years for her first major production, Mood, to reach BBC screens in 2022.
In the interim, she attended drama school and worked a series of temporary jobs. 'I seemed to be quite good at getting a job. I was not good at keeping a job,' she admitted. She worked as an agency hostess at numerous London venues, a fact that became a running joke on the set of Mood, as she had worked at nearly every filming location.
Since her breakthrough, her career has flourished with roles in Sky's dark comedy Sweetpea and the recent film Jay Kelly, starring George Clooney and Adam Sandler.
Looking ahead, Lecky told Metro, 'I love film, so maybe some more film acting and writing. I just want to continue telling stories that I'm really passionate about, but also challenging myself.'
Wild Cherry promises to be a provocative and timely drama, pulling back the curtain on a world of privilege where the pressures on young women are more intense and hidden than ever before.
