Is ITV's Coldwater based on a true story and where is it filmed?

After many years fighting zombies and being faced with some of the worst villains in comic book history in The Walking Dead, Andrew Lincoln has made a return to British drama in a new six-part thriller, Coldwater.

In the ITV drama, Andrew plays John, a man who relocates from London to the fictional Scottish village of Coldwater, looking for a new start. The plot plays out against a beautiful Scottish backdrop, leading viewers to question whether it's based on a true story, and where it was filmed. Here's everything we know.

In the show, John's move to Coldwater was instigated when he failed to intervene during a violent playground confrontation – the ensuing identity crisis spurred him to get as far away from London as possible while attempting to heal his crumbling marriage.

However, when he's befriended by a neighbour who isn't what he seems, and John finds himself inwardly raging at his new life as a stay-at-home dad, his life unravels to whole new levels...

Is Coldwater based on a true story?

Although Coldwater isn't based on a particular true story, it does draw from the real life of writer David Ireland.

Of the semi-autobiographical elements of the show, David shares, "The main character John is a bit like me. He’s middle aged, has two young children and is at a point in his life where he’s examining everything."

"He’s dealing with a lot of difficult personal issues."

David wrote the first episode all the way back in 2020, when both himself and the rest of the world were in a very strange place.

He explains that during the pandemic, he was having trouble sleeping and was writing late into the night.

"The things that were on my mind then are in the first couple of episodes," he shares, continuing, "the obsessive running, I was reading the Bible obsessively as well. I was also reading lots of true crime books."

David offers more context, sharing, "My wife and I were talking about moving out of Glasgow and into the countryside, as many others were in 2020. So all of those things were in the mix and I had an idea."

However, that is where the similarities between David and the character of John come to an end – David's experiences were a jumping off point for a storyline he then created that wasn't based on anything real.

"I like thrillers about urban men being put in situations in rural settings where they’re out of their depth," he says of the narrative he went on to create. "I thought I’d really like to just write a TV series that’s a really great thriller about a man who’s in a violent situation and out of his depth," he concludes.

Where is Coldwater filmed?

Coldwater isn't a real town, and filming to create it and its surrounding locations took place in Dunlop, East Ayrshire, Glen Fruin and Loch Lomond.

Dunlop is a small village that sits around 20 miles outside of Glasgow. It's where the majority of the external scenes depicting Coldwater were filmed, and features the church which is central to the show's storylines.

Found 40 miles away from Dunlop, filming took place at Glen Fruin, an area sitting adjacent to Loch Lomond. The picturesque nature of the area shows off the quintessential beauty of rural Scotland.

David Ireland also spoke about choosing Dunlop as the location of Coldwater. "Coldwater is my little fantasy," he said, adding, "you’ve got the beautiful church, beautiful coffee shops, it's an idealised version of rural Scotland."