Netflix viewers have been suitably traumatised by new romance series One Day, and many are asking the same question: is it based on a true story?
The series, starring Leo Woodall and Ambika Mod as Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley, follows the romantic leads as they reunite on the same day every year, their love story spanning decades.
It’s based on the 2009 novel One Day, by author David Nicholls – whose new novel exploring ‘first encounters, second chances and finding the way home’ is due to be released in April.
Despite One Day being released on Netflix just days ago, it has already enjoyed huge success, with fans racing to social media to share their thoughts on the emotional series.
Ambika, who plays Emma, is best-known for her role in BBC drama This Is Going To Hurt – which plenty more viewers bawled their eyes out at – while many TV fans will recognise Leo from the phenomenal The White Lotus.
But while we know One Day is based on a book, is it a true story?
Is One Day a true story?
One Day author David Nicholls published his unique romance novel in 2009, and like many writers took inspiration from his own life when creating the story.
So while the Netflix series is not based on a true story, there are a lot of similarities between Dexter and Emma, and David’s own life.
He first had the idea for One Day when he himself was in school, studying Tess of the D’Urbervilles, which made him consider the importance of a single date, with ‘hidden anniversaries’ people pass through each year with no idea of what’s to come in their future.
Like Emma, David also studied English and Drama at university, and he gave her experiences he had also shared: ‘False starts and blind alleys,’ he told The Guardian in a 2021 interview.
The series is also set in Edinburgh because he fell in love with the city while living there for a summer as a young man, having spent most of his life near Bristol.
David told The Daily Record in 2011 that Edinburgh had ‘a huge impression’ on him.
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The series – and the 2011 film starring Anne Hathaway that failed to impress quite as much – shows the characters exploring Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh, a famous and breathtaking view of the city.
He told the outlet that people ‘go up to Arthur’s Seat on July 15 because of it, and I just love that. I’m really honoured and flattered by that.’
But, he admitted, ‘when I lived there, I never went up it myself, I always chickened out. But I have done it a few times since.
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One Day is available to watch on Netflix.
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