Nearly a decade after it first aired, James Nesbitt‘s crime drama The Secret is now featured prominently on ITVX, highlighted in their ‘Unmissable Boxsets’ section with other popular shows like Trigger Point and Quiz.
I remember when this mini-series first came out in April and May of 2016 – it was only four episodes, but it was based on a real-life story that people were really talking about. It definitely stirred up some controversy at the time!
Featuring Nesbitt, Genevieve O’Reilly from Andor, Glen Wallace of Hollyoaks, Laura Pyper known from Emma, and Jason Watkins of McDonald & Dodds, the series centers on a dentist and a teacher who begin a secret affair while both are married to other people.
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The situation becomes incredibly grim when he kills his wife and her husband, then makes it appear as though they died by suicide.
Despite winning a Royal Television Society award and being nominated for a BAFTA, the drama also led to an investigation by Ofcom and even became a topic of discussion in Parliament during Prime Minister’s Questions.
One of the victims’ daughters criticised the series in an article for The Guardian, arguing that it sensationalized the tragedy for entertainment and wasn’t factually accurate.
ITV explained that the scripts for The Secret were carefully written based on a well-researched book by a trusted journalist. They also did a lot of extra research and used information from publicly available court records and media reports.
So, the people who made the show let the families involved see it before it aired, which was the right thing to do. But honestly, we never said they gave it their thumbs-up or signed off on how it was all portrayed. We just wanted them to have a heads-up.
Viewers generally like The Secret, giving it an average rating of 7.1 out of 10 based on over 4,200 reviews on IMDb.
Viewers praised the show as a captivating and thrilling crime drama, highlighting Nesbitt’s incredibly unsettling performance. One viewer wished the character played by Watkins had been featured more prominently.
The Secret is available to stream on ITVX, and is also available on Netflix.
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2026-02-09 20:19