Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell / © MirrorPix
5 has announced a new “factual drama” based on former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s relationship with her husband Peter Murrell.
The 56-year-old served as leader of Scotland and her SNP party from 2014 to 2023 – during which time husband Murrell was Chief Executive of the SNP, a role he held from 2021 to 2023.
Murrell is now in prison serving a five-year term, having admitted to abusing his power as Chief Executive to embezzle more than £400,000 out of the political party’s accounts.
The case drew attention not only for the significance of the abuse of power at the top of Scottish politics but also due to the bizarre list of items he purchased with the funds, including high-end coffee machines, luxury watches, a robotic lawnmower, a pressure washer and more than £2,600 on a set of salt-and-pepper grinders.
Sturgeon has been steadfast that she was completely unaware of any of her husband’s activities, despite his shopping list including a £125,000 campervan.
The new 5 dramatisation of the saga is called To Nicola, Love Peter and will draw on “an extensive range of factual sources” to inform the narrative.
“This is an epic tale of Shakespearean proportions,” said Ben Frow, 5’s chief content officer. “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…?!'”
Casting for the 90-minute feature will be announced in the coming weeks.
