According to the creator of “Black Doves,” the Netflix series is based on a much darker true story than what is portrayed on the show.

In the Netflix series, Keira Knightley plays Helen, a spy whose secret identity is exposed after having an affair. In “Black Doves,” Knightley’s character marries a government minister to pass secret information to British intelligence.

Barton stated that the show is inspired by real-life events. The creator and showrunner said part of the series was inspired by a scandal involving 140 British police officers. Apparently, without the knowledge of senior police officials, they infiltrated several political groups across the country.

According to a report from “The Guardian” in 2012, this led the so-called “spy cops” to marry members of the political groups they infiltrated, and in some cases, even have children with them.

“It’s a truly horrific story, much darker than the series,” Barton said in an interview with Radio Times. “But I thought, ‘Okay, this idea, this duplicity of having a fake marriage that lasts for years and years and then disappears.’ That was really part of the inspiration.”