In the latest must-watch BBC series, “The Woman in The Wall,” we get a chance to meet Lorna Brady, brought to life by Ruth Wilson. She’s navigating a labyrinth of personal trauma, sleepwalking spells, and an unexplained corpse that’s suddenly in her living room. As you watch the story unfold, you can’t shake the question—how much of this spine-chilling story is anchored in the real world?
Even though the main storyline is crafted from imagination, the shadow of Lorna’s dark history in Magdalene Laundry gives the drama an eerie dose of reality. Over the course of six episodes, the show takes us deep into the psyche of its characters while also highlighting the actual agonies faced by numerous women in Magdalene Laundries, adding an unsettling layer of realness to the plot.
Is ‘The Woman in The Wall’ A True Story?
Though the drama you see on-screen is fictional, it draws from the harsh realities faced by women who were incarcerated in Magdalene Laundries. The show’s setting, Kilkinure, is the brainchild of writer and executive producer Joe Murtagh, who leaned into his Irish heritage for inspiration.
Tracing Back to History
The concept of Magdalene Laundries isn’t new; the first one popped up in the 1760s to “rehabilitate” so-called “fallen women”—those who were either sexually active outside of wedlock or became pregnant without being married. Within these grim walls, women were forced into unpaid labor, primarily dealing with laundry and sewing tasks.
Led by nuns, these institutions were far from holy, subjecting their inmates to both psychological and physical abuse. If a woman gave birth while inside, her child was instantly separated from her, and she’d likely never find out what became of her offspring.
It wasn’t just the “fallen women” who were sent to these institutions. Daughters of unmarried mothers, those deemed an inconvenience by their families, and victims of sexual abuse often found themselves imprisoned alongside them. Many would spend decades confined, isolated from family and the outside world.
What Is It About?
When Lorna opens her eyes to find an unknown dead woman in her home, she’s clueless about the woman’s identity or whether she had any role in her death. This mystery is further complicated by Lorna’s history of sleepwalking, a condition she’s had since her youth, back when she was at Kilkinure Convent Magdalene Laundry.
During her stay there, she gave birth, and her baby was immediately taken from her. Enter Detective Colman Akande, played by Daryl McCormack. He starts piecing together the puzzle while grappling with his own hidden secrets. Before long, he finds himself entangled in Lorna’s life and her quest to uncover the truth about her long-lost daughter.
