The true story that inspired Channel 4’s new drama Falling

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Following her role in the Prime Video thriller The Assassin, Keeley Hawes is now taking on a more emotionally challenging part in Channel 4’s Falling. This new six-part drama is based on a true love story and centers around Anna, a nun who has lived in a convent for most of her adult life.

Keeley explains that Anna has spent most of her life within the convent and doesn’t know another way of life. She’s made a lifelong commitment and never considered leaving. However, Anna’s carefully ordered world is disrupted when she meets David, a charming priest portrayed by Paapa Essiedu. Despite their instant connection, their developing relationship puts everything they believe in at risk.

Keeley jokingly says that both she and David are already ‘married to God,’ meaning they’ve fully committed themselves to their faith, which makes their romantic struggles particularly painful. Paapa explains that David is also dealing with personal issues, having moved to Bristol three years ago to live with his sister. He used to be a promising figure in his previous church, even considered a future bishop, but something changed.

The new drama was written by Jack Thorne, a highly respected screenwriter known for shows like His Dark Materials, Help, and Toxic Town. However, the initial idea for Falling wasn’t his own. Thorne explained that producer George Faber sparked the project by sharing a real-life story with him – an article about a nun who fell in love with a priest.

Jack explained that his friend and frequent partner, George Faber, shared an article with him about a nun and a priest who fell in love. While their show, ‘Falling,’ doesn’t use any specifics from that story, they were intrigued by the themes of faith and love and felt it offered a unique premise for a show.

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While the author, Jack, never said for sure, the love story of Anna and David in the series seems to be based on a real couple. Lisa Tinker, who became Sister Mary Elizabeth, was a nun for over 20 years. She met Robert, a monk, in 2015, and they eventually fell in love. Both decided to leave their religious orders and got married.

In a 2023 BBC interview, Lisa described the moment she realized her feelings had shifted. She admitted feeling a connection and was a little self-conscious, wondering if Robert felt it too. It turned out he had – he felt the same spark.

Robert explained that when Lisa touched his sleeve, something began to shift within him. Although he felt affection growing, he didn’t experience a sudden, overwhelming feeling of falling in love. He attributed this to the emotional discipline he’d learned through his monastic training, which taught him how to manage feelings like love.

As of 2023, Robert and Lisa were still a couple, residing in North Yorkshire. Robert had become a vicar in the Church of England, and Lisa worked as a hospital chaplain. They had found a fulfilling way to combine their faith with everyday life, and their unique love story was featured on an episode of BBC Radio 4’s Beyond Belief.

Although Falling is a work of fiction, the central emotional struggle it portrays feels genuinely relatable. The series features Keeley, Paapa, Jason Watkins, Niamh Cusack, Adrian Scarborough, Rakie Ayola, and David Dawson.

Falling starts this Tuesday, 19 May at 9pm on Channel 4.

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2026-05-19 23:19