Kemi Badenoch has suggested that the creators of the hit Netflix series, Adolescence, “fundamentally changed” the story it is supposedly based on — and that while it touches on a societal issue, “there are bigger problems” such as Islamic terrorism.
Co-creator Jack Thorne recently rubbished a theory spread on social media that the series changed the race of the lead character from a real-life case.
Adolescence centres on a 13-year-old boy arrested for the murder of a young girl and seeks to examine so-called incel (involuntary celibate) culture.
The prime minister hosted a roundtable at Downing Street with Thorne and children’s charities on Monday to talk about young boys being influenced by online misogyny.
Opening the meeting, Keir Starmer thanked the show’s creators for the conversation they have started.
The PM said he and his wife had watched the drama with his 14-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son, and that “as a dad, I have not found it easy viewing”.
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New entry into the Kemi Badenoch does not do her homework canon:Adolescence's creators have denied the series is based on true events, contradicting a theory doing the rounds on X that suggested the main character was “race swapped”Badenoch tells LBC the story was “fundamentally changed”
— Josh Self (@josh.politics.co.uk) 2025-04-01T08:49:21.314Z
Starmer said the four-part series raises questions about how to keep young people safe from technology.
In an interview with LBC on Tuesday, Badenoch revealed she has not watched the series.
Asked what the show has taught her, the Conservative leader commented: “Well, I haven’t watched it. I don’t have time to watch anything to be honest, but I have read about it…
“So what I understand is that this is a fictional representation of a story that is actually quite different. And I think it’s an interesting story. It certainly touches on some of the things that are happening in the world today.
“But it is not the biggest thing that is happening in the world today in terms of what is happening to people being radicalised on social media.”
Pressed further on whether this is a show a leading politician should be watching, Badenoch said: “So I pay attention, but I’m not going to watch every single thing that everybody’s watching on Netflix.
“I do know what they’re watching, and I know what it’s about, and I’ve given a view that it is a work of fiction that is interesting, that touches on a problem in society, but there are bigger problems, such as Islamic terrorism and that kind of radicalisation.
“And the story which it is based on has been fundamentally changed, and so creating policy on a work of fiction rather than on reality is the real issue.”
The comments come after a social media post, amplified by tech billionaire Elon Musk, went viral suggesting the story is based on the Southport attacker.
The show’s co-creator, Jack Thorne, has since rejected the accusations of “race-swapping” in the series.
It is not based on a true story and is “making a point about masculinity” and not race, Thorne told the News Agents podcast.
“It’s absurd to say that [knife crime] is only committed by black boys. It’s absurd. It’s not true. And history shows a lot of cases of kids from all races committing these crimes”, he added.
Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on Bluesky here.
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Source: Politics