Michaela Coel’s brand new drama I May Destroy You was partly inspired after being spiked on a night out.
The Chewing Gum star’s BBC Three and HBO series explores the question of sexual consent in contemporary life and how, in our modern landscape of dating and relationships, we make the distinction between liberation and exploitation.
Following triumph from a piece of writing that garnered internet acclaim, Arabella (played by Coel) finds herself feted as the ‘voice of her generation,’ with an agent, a book commission and a helluva lot of pressure.
After being sexually assaulted in a nightclub, her life changes irreversibly and Arabella is forced to reassess everything: her career, her friends, even her family.
As Arabella struggles to come to terms with what has happened, she begins a journey of self-discovery.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk at virtual press screening, Michaela revealed: ‘In 2016, I was very much like the Arabella you see in the first episode.
‘I was doing an all-nighter and went out to meet a friend for a drink for a break and my drink was spiked by a stranger just like Arabella, and this really was the [inspiration] of the entire show.
‘After that, I spoke to different people, I spoke to friends who had experiences and trauma around consent, and I used a lot of reality to inspire the show which is fictional.’
I May Destroy You is made up of 12 episodes and Michaela hopes that audiences ‘take away something that is quite hard to put into words.’
I May Destroy You begins on Monday 8th June at 10:45pm on BBC One.
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