ITV viewers watching The Blame were left horrified after discovering that disturbing group chat messages featured in the drama were not fictional but had actually been sent by real UK police officers.
The third episode of the six-part thriller aired tonight, following detectives Emma Crane and Tom Radley, played by Michelle Keegan and Douglas Booth, as their investigation into the murder of teenage figure skater Sophie Madsen continued.
Real messages in police group chat
During the episode, Emma's investigation led her deeper into the culture inside Wakestead Police Station, where concerns about officers' behaviour and the treatment of women became increasingly difficult to ignore.
The episode revealed that officers had been part of a group chat where disturbing messages about women had been exchanged, alongside inappropriate jokes and photographs from crime scenes.
The storyline takes an even more shocking turn because the messages featured in the drama were not simply written by scriptwriters. The production used messages that had actually been sent by real UK police officers and subsequently came to light during investigations into police misconduct.
Viewers react with shock
A warning message read on screen during the show said: "The offensive words of the police group chat messages shown in this episode are real messages written by UK police officers."
That detail left viewers stunned, with many taking to social media to react. One viewer wrote: "The police group chat messages were real, disgusting #TheBlame."
Another asked: "How tffff did they get permission to air real messages from officers in this show damn #Theblame."
A third viewer said: "Just finished watching #TheBlame the new @ITV thriller with Michelle Keegan and Douglas Booth. Good twisty storyline, with shocking real life text messages from former UK police officers included."
Stars discuss the decision
Another praised the decision, writing: "Great and bold choice by the creators of The Blame on @ITV to use the real messages police officers have been found using in chat groups #TheBlame #Police #ITV."
And another viewer said: "Knowing that the text messages are from real police officers is horrific #TheBlame," while a different viewer added: "The messages were real. Sick to my stomach. #TheBlame."
The use of the messages has previously been discussed by the show's stars. Michelle Keegan and Douglas Booth revealed that the real messages were used because they wanted the drama's exploration of misogyny within policing to be grounded in reality. Speaking about seeing the messages, Michelle admitted that she got "goosebumps" when she read them, while Douglas described them as genuinely shocking.
The Blame continues on ITV, with all six episodes also available to stream on ITVX.
