Is Playing Nice based on a true story and where was it filmed? Inspiration behind the ITV baby swap drama

ITV viewers have found baby swap drama Playing Nice so gritty and real, they want to know if it's based on a real story - here's everything we know about the series and where it filmed.

Set against a rugged Cornish landscape, four-part ITV drama, Playing Nice, portrays every family's worst nightmare when two couples discover that their toddlers were switched at birth in a hospital mix-up. Pete (James Norton) and Maddie (Niamh Algar) are forced into the lives of Miles (James McArdle) and Lucy (Jessica Brown Findlay), to make the most dreadful decision - do they keep the sons they know and love, or reclaim their biological child?

Initially it appears both couples agree on a solution, but this soon unravels when it becomes apparent that hidden motives could be at play. The situation forces the couples to address how much they trust the real parents of their child and each other, leading to an inevitable breaking point. In the same way that fellow recent dramas The Listeners and Nobody Wants This left viewers wondering if they were based on real events, those tuning into Playing Nice want to find out if the series took inspiration from real events and they're also interested to find out the filming locations used.

Is Playing Nice based on a true story?

Playing Nice isn't based on a true story, but on the 2020 book of the same name by bestselling author, JP Delaney. The book isn't based on real events either, and is the work of Delaney's imagination as a writer well known for his prowess in the genre of psychological thrillers.

Although not based on a specific real event, executive producer Kitty Kaletsky, along with the show's actors, researched real-life stories of baby swapping and were acutely aware of the devastating impact it can have. Kitty says, "It was definitely important that it felt rooted in reality. I think whilst the situation that our characters find themselves in is incredibly rare, it happens apparently 30 times a year in the Western world, which, given the billions of people in the Western world, is not very much."

She adds, "But for those 30 families it's obviously soul-destroying. And so, we did do research to not malign the system because it's there to protect children, and that's really important that we make that clear, but also to prove how couples or families can feel trapped in their situations."

Grace Offori-Attah who wrote the script for the series, is incredibly both a registered psychiatrist alongside being a talented scriptwriter. Her background and knowledge of the book made her well placed to adapt it for television. Speaking of her talents, James Norton says of Grace, "She was already fascinated by the story and the hook as she's got a background in medicine herself and is versed in child’s psychology and children's mental health. She was the perfect person to adapt Playing Nice."

Niamh Algar concludes by revealing her approach to tackling the material, adding, "I read articles on it. I didn't realise that this – accidental baby swapping - actually happens quite regularly, especially around when babies are born premature because they do all look very alike. I sat down with Kate Hewitt, the director, to get into the mindset of this character and weaving in her back story to my portrayal of Maddie."

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Where was Playing Nice filmed?

The series was filmed on location in Cornwall. Specific locations include the beautiful village of Mevagissey, and the Jubilee Pool in Penzance. Along Cornwall's stunning coastline, locations used by the cast and crew include St Ives, Padstow, Mawgan Porth beach and Park Head.

The book is set in London, but producer Kitty Kaletsky felt changing the location to Cornwall would "Elevate it both aesthetically and in terms of its themes." Explaining this choice, she says, "The story is about being on the edge. It's about getting in too deep and, not to kind of mix metaphors too much, but Cornish people do literally live on the edge of our country, and they are surrounded by water in a way that our four sort of feel like they're drowning. So, thematically and visually, it felt really important to embrace the local area."

James Norton adored filming in Cornwall, detailing just how enthralled he was by the whole process. "Miles and Lucy’s home is located on the top of a hill overlooking a beautiful beach," he says, adding, "on the second day of filming James McArdle [plays Miles] and I had to surf for a scene which was really fun."

He continues, "We had the dramatic Cornish landscape to work with and we filmed on some of the most beautiful cliffs and coastline in the country. St Ives is very beautiful and we went pottering around the town during lunch breaks. It's a really special thing to entrench ourselves in the community. We met a surf instructor called Pete, who runs a surf school called King Surf in Mawgan Porth and he was a hero. I loved it."