TO NICOLA, LOVE PETER: CHANNEL 5 ANNOUNCES NEW FACTUAL DRAMA ON NICOLA STURGEON AND HUSBAND PETER

5 has commissioned Wonderhood Studios to produce To Nicola, Love Peter (w/t), a major new, 1 x 90’ factual drama telling the story of how Nicola Sturgeon’s husband, Peter Murrell, embezzled £400,000 from the SNP over a 12 year period. 

Image: BBC/ BBC News

The project reunites Wonderhood Studios with 5's factual and scripted commissioning teams following the success of Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards* and draws on an extensive range of factual sources including evidence gathered by Police Scotland, The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service; extensive TV and newspaper interviews with Nicola Sturgeon; and interviews with other key protagonists.

By the end of 2022, Nicola Sturgeon was Scotland’s most popular and longest serving political leader. But little did she know that within months, her hard-earned political reputation would be left in tatters when police officers knocked on the door of her family home and arrested her husband in April 2023. 

Nicola came to discover that the man she thought she knew, shared a home with and who helped build her career, had deceived and betrayed her over the course of 12 years. Murrell falsified receipts, gaslit junior staff and used secret codes in order to embezzle £400,000 to bankroll his compulsive shopping habit.

Using money that ordinary citizens and party supporters had donated to fund a historic second referendum on Scottish Independence, Murrell purchased a range of luxury household goods, including high-end coffee machines, luxury watches, a robotic lawnmower, a pressure washer and a £124,550 motorhome as well as spending £2,618.16 on two luxury salt and pepper grinders. 

In May this year, Peter Murrell pleaded guilty and was sent to prison for over 5 years.   When he pleaded guilty, his crimes appeared to be purely financial. But he plunged a whole political movement into chaos, tarnished the legacy of Scotland’s most popular politician and shattered Sturgeon’s and Murrell’s shared ambition of achieving Scottish independence, along with the hopes and dreams of a nation. 

This drama lifts the lid on this extraordinary story and how it contributed to the downfall of one of the biggest political figures of a generation.

Ben Frow, Chief Content Officer, 5 said: “This is an epic tale of Shakespearean proportions.  An extraordinary tale of power, envy, deception and greed.  It's both a high-stakes political melodrama and bizarre domestic drama that has dominated headlines and gossip columns. We will be pulling together the events and characters involved to create a compelling revealing drama, as well as answering that very important question - why would anyone pay £2,600 for a pair of salt & pepper grinders...?!”

David Abraham, Executive Chairman, Wonderhood Studios said “This project reflects our growing ambition to develop quality dramas about contemporary stories that resonate with broad audiences. We are delighted to be working with the brilliant team at 5 once again” 

To Nicola, Love Peter (w/t) is a Wonderhood Studios production commissioned by Guy Davies (Consultant Editor for Commissioning, 5) and Paul Testar (Commissioning Editor, Scripted, 5). 

Scottish and BAFTA-nominated Director Misha Manson-Smith (The Feed, Kiss Me First and No Offence) is directing. The drama will be written by Scottish BAFTA-nominated Screenwriter Lucy Brydon (Body of Water).

Meanwhile, Channel 5 recently aired Nigel Farage: Where Does the Money Come From which puts Farage's finances under the microscope to ask how the leader of Reform UK has built such a sizeable fortune, unravelling the combination of donors, companies and payments that have reportedly landed him more than £2 million in outside income since entering Parliament in 2024 - plus millions more over the course of his political career.

From his lucrative sideline as a broadcaster and after-dinner speaker, to reports concerning his property interests, this programme examines the available information.

A cast of expert contributors considers reported payments, donations and gifts involving two crypto financiers, alongside parliamentary and media scrutiny, to examine where Farage's money may have come from.

More details will be announced in due course.