Wild Cherry creator and star Nicôle Lecky reveals real-life inspiration behind BBC coming-of-age drama

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The idea for Nicôle Lecky‘s show, Wild Cherry, came to her one summer night in 2022 while she was driving in Surrey. She remembers passing an exclusive gated community and being struck by curiosity. “I wondered who lived in those big houses,” she said, “because I didn’t know anyone who did – and I really wanted to find out what it was like inside.”

So she did just that. “I wormed my way into the golf club and people-watched.”

Lecky focuses on crafting detailed and immersive settings for her stories, paying as much attention to the visual environment as she does to the characters. She aims to create a world you can truly feel like you’re a part of, wanting to get close and experience everything.

The story, Wild Cherry, explores the often complicated bond between mothers and daughters. It centers on Lorna, a successful businesswoman who built her own empire, and her wealthy best friend, Juliet, and their lives within a private, gated community.

Grace and Allegra, the daughters of Lorna and Juliet (played by Imogen Faires and Amelia May respectively), are also close friends. They all seem to live perfect, picture-perfect lives in their affluent community, where everyone appears to have everything they need. However, a situation at the girls’ private school causes a rift between Lorna and Juliet, and both mothers will do anything to protect their daughters – and maintain their social status.

Wild Cherry, with its beautiful locations and blend of stories for both adults and teenagers, feels similar to shows like Big Little Lies and Gossip Girl. But it’s more than just a story about secrets and a luxurious lifestyle; it also explores the themes of wealth and social class. According to creator Sarah Lecky, “Just because someone has money doesn’t mean they’re content. It might change how they cope with issues, but the problems themselves—like unhappy marriages or difficult family relationships—remain the same.”

Her background is quite different from the worlds she often portrays on screen. The 35-year-old, who works as an actor, writer, and singer, was raised in Stratford, east London. Her father was an electrician and her mother a mental-health nurse, but sadly her mother passed away when she was 19. She’s always loved telling stories and performing – she remembers writing constantly as a child, and always taking dance or singing classes during the summers. While no one else in her family was a performer, her passion came naturally. Her father was a DJ before becoming an electrician, so music has always been important in their home.

Music is still at the heart of how she creates. She describes how, when she begins a project, certain songs immediately define the overall feel she’s aiming for. For her recent work, ‘Wild Cherry,’ those songs were Joan Baez’s ‘Diamonds and Rust’ and Runo Plum’s slow dance. She listens to these songs repeatedly to stay focused and inspired, almost as background noise, letting them pull her into the right creative headspace. By playing the same song the next day, she can instantly return to that same imaginative world.

Lecky, known for the series Mood – where she was an executive producer, writer, composer, and star – is again tackling difficult themes in her new work, Wild Cherry. Like Mood, which followed a young rapper navigating social media and sex work, Wild Cherry examines the hidden dangers of smartphones and apps. Lecky was particularly struck by the existence of ‘ghost apps’ disguised as everyday tools like calculators. These apps, she discovered, actually function as secret messaging or photo-sharing platforms, raising questions about their purpose and creating a feeling of unease.

She’d also learned about teens sending private photos without understanding the serious consequences, both legally and emotionally. She often wonders if these girls feel strong and confident using these apps, or if true control is even possible for women in that online world. Lecky’s deep appreciation for women is a major theme in her work. She simply says, ‘I love women. We’re amazing, and I think we’re wonderfully complex.’

After making Adolescence, a documentary about online grooming of boys, does she view Wild Cherry as a chance to look at how girls are similarly pressured to see themselves as objects, and to share insights into the harmful effects of this conditioning?

I worry about young women online because I recognize the pressure they face when seeing images and comparing themselves to others. However, it’s not just about social media; it’s a broader issue with how teenage boys and girls are raised and whether they feel comfortable speaking up and to whom they can turn for help.

In the series Wild Cherry, Lecky plays Gigi, an American life coach who also serves as the narrator.

I actually started out training as an actor – I’ve been in things like Sweetpea on Sky Atlantic, Death in Paradise on the BBC, and even a George Clooney film called Jay Kelly. But while I was reading scripts for roles, I kept thinking I had my own stories to tell, and that’s really how Superhoe – which eventually became Mood – came about. I just felt like there were so many experiences missing from what I was seeing on stage and screen, stories that needed to be told.

She believes writing is freeing. Unlike acting, where you often spend a lot of time hoping for work – feeling stuck and waiting by the phone – writing puts you in control. And for Lecky, those days of waiting are now a thing of the past.

Wild Cherry premieres on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Friday 15th November.

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2025-11-11 20:30