Yahoo Lifestyle Is Playing Nice based on a true story?
There's nothing we love more than a psychological thriller to see us through the cold, boring nights of January. Which is where Playing Nice comes in: the new four-part series which dropped on ITV yesterday [5th January.] The show follows two couples whose world is turned upside down when they're informed that their babies were accidentally swapped at birth, and they have been raising children that are not genetically their own. But is it based on a true story?
Wait, what is Playing Nice about?
The official ITV synopsis explains, "Two families, one devastating secret - James Norton, Niamh Algar, James McArdle and Jessica Brown Findlay star. Lives unravel and loyalties are tested in this gripping thriller. When Pete and Maddie find out something devastating about their son Theo, they soon meet another set of parents in the same situation."
The series follows two couples with toddlers, who are informed after genetic testing that their premature babies got mixed up in a neonatal intensive care unit three years ago.
They parents quickly decide they will keep their current children, while also spending time with their birth sons. Only, as the situation continues to develop, so too does a sinister undertone, which leaves them all questioning their moral compass and choices.
Is Playing Nice based on a true story?
In short, no. There is no one exact story that inspired the events that play out in Playing Nice - which is probably a good thing. The book was actually based on author JP Delaney's book of the same name, which has the synopsis:
"Pete Riley answers the door one morning to a parent's worst nightmare. On his doorstep is Miles Lambert, who breaks the devastating news that Pete's two-year-old, Theo, isn't Pete's real son - their babies got mixed up at birth.
The two families - Pete, his partner Maddie, and Miles and his wife Lucy - agree that, rather than swap the boys back, they'll try to find a more flexible way to share their children's lives. But a plan to sue the hospital triggers an investigation that unearths disturbing questions about just what happened the day the babies were switched.
And when Theo is thrown out of nursery for hitting other children, Maddie and Pete have to ask themselves: how far do they want this arrangement to go? What secrets lie hidden behind the Lamberts' smart front door? How much can they trust the real parents of their child - or even each other?"
Playing Nice by JP Delaney
Speaking to Yahoo about the inspiration behind the series, James Norton - who plays Pete and produced the series - said that while it wasn't specifically inspired by a true story, things like this do happen.
"It does happen, not a lot, but it does happen, and to the point where guidelines around like what you do if the kid's younger than two and a half years you switch them, and if they're older than three you leave them where they are because it's too damaging," he explained.
"And so around the two and half, three-year mark —which our kids are in the show— it's very unclear as to what to do. There is historical cases of this happening, it's quite disturbing."
Playing Nice is now streaming on ITVX.
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