Is The Serpent based on a true story?

 THE Serpent has been thrilling fans since it landed on BBC One.

The chilling drama, starring Jenna Coleman and Tahar Rahim, tells the dark murderous tale of serial killer Charles Sobhraj.

What is The Serpent about?

The Serpent tells the remarkable story of how the conman and murderer Charles Sobhraj (Tahar Rahim) was brought to justice.

Posing as a gem dealer, Sobhraj and his girlfriend Marie-Andrée Leclerc (Jenna Coleman) travelled across Thailand, Nepal and India in 1975 and 1976, carrying out a spree of crimes and becoming the chief suspects in a series of murders of young Western travellers.

As Sobhraj repeatedly slips from the grasp of authorities around the world, Herman Knippenberg (Billy Howle), a junior diplomat at the Dutch Embassy in Bangkok, unwittingly walks into his intricate web of crime.

Knippenberg sets off an extraordinary chain of events that will see Sobhraj become Interpol’s most wanted man, with arrest warrants in multiple continents.

Is The Serpent based on a true story?

The series is based on real events.

Back in the 1970s, a notorious killer, Charles Sobhraj, was on the loose, escaping authorities and police investigation.

The exact number of murders committed by Sobhraj is unknown, but it’s thought to be at most 24.

He killed hippies and tourists in Nepal, India and Thailand, and often then took their money and passports.

He and his girlfriend, Marie-Andrée Leclerc, travelled across Nepal, Thailand and India in 1975 committing their crimes on what was known as the ‘Hippie Trail’.

Who is Charles Sobhraj?

Sobhraj was a killer and a conman who posed as a gem dealer to fool his victims and those around him.

He was Interpol’s most wanted criminal for a period of time in the 70s, and was being hunted down by Dutch diplomat Herman Knippenberg.

Sobhraj was dubbed ‘The Serpent’ due to his conniving ways and constant escapism from reprimand.

He was also nicknamed the ‘Bikini Killer’ due to the clothing worn by his victims.

Sobhraj was noted as having a strong dislike of hippie culture.

Now aged 76, he is currently in jail in Nepal.

When is The Serpent next on TV?

The Serpent airs every Sunday on BBC One.

You can catch the next episode at 9pm on December 10, 2021.

But if you can’t wait until then, you can watch all eight episodes on the iPlayer right now.