Is ITV's Under the Bridge based on a true story? The real life case behind Reena Virk's tragic death

Cosmopolitan

25-07-2025

A chilling new drama, Under the Bridge,is set to air on ITV tonight (Friday 25th July).
The eight-part series recounts the true story of Reena Virk, a 14-year-old who attended a party on an island in British Columbia, Canada, but tragically never made it back home. Seven teenage girls and a boy were implicated in Reena's murder.
The story is told through the eyes of Rebecca and local police officer Cam Bentland (played by Lily Gladstone), pulling viewers into the complex world of the teenagers accused of murder - and uncovering some shocking truths along the way.
"Under the Bridge is based on acclaimed author Rebecca Godfrey's book about the 1997 true story of fourteen-year-old Reena Virk (Vritika Gupta) who went to join friends at a party and never returned home," the official synopsis reads.
"Through the eyes of Godfrey (Riley Keough) and a local police officer (Lily Gladstone), the series takes us into the hidden world of the young girls accused of the murder - revealing startling truths about the unlikely killer."
As Under the Bridge airs read on for the devastating true story that inspired the series.
It is.
on 14th November 1997, a 14-year-old girl named Reena Virk was attacked by a group of teenagers in Saanich, Canada. Her body was discovered eight days later in a nearby river.
In 2008, Reena Virk's father, Manjit, published Reena: A Father's Story, a memoir that explores his daughter's life and the tragedy of her death. He describes Reena as a young girl who often felt like an outsider and endured relentless bullying. Her relationship with her Indian Canadian parents was complex, shaped in part by their strict upbringing and devotion to the Jehovah's Witness faith.
At age 14, Virk began spending time with a group of teenagers, including Nicole Cook. According to the book Under the Bridge, tensions escalated when Reena allegedly spread hurtful rumours about Cook - claiming she had fake breasts, wore coloured contact lenses, and had AIDS.
On the evening of 14th November 1997, Virk attended a party with some of her friends where she was confronted by Cook, according to the TV show Bloodlust Under the Bridge.
Virk allegedly called her a "b***h," which prompted Cook to put a cigarette out on her forehead. Cook and Missy Grace Pleich said that Cook's best friend, Kelly Ellard, and Pleich both started to hit and kick Virk. Then the rest of the group, including Warren Glowatski, joined in.
Virk managed to escape, but was followed by Glowatski and Ellard, who continued the assault before drowning her in the Victoria Gorge waterway. They were later tried as adults, and both received life sentences.
Eight teenagers were ultimately tried and convicted in connection with Reena's tragic death. Six of them, later dubbed the Shoreline Six, were found guilty of assaulting her. while Warren and Kelly faced murder convictions, held responsible for taking her life. Their convictions were changed to manslaughter.
The Shoreline Six included Ellard, Cook, Nicole Patterson, Courtney Keith, Gail Ooms, and Reena Virk's best friend, Pleich. They received sentences ranging from 60-day conditional sentences to one year in jail.
Several of the teenagers involved in the initial attack on Virk were given fictional names in the series. For example, Nicole Cook is portrayed as Josephine Bell, played by Chloe Guidry.
This was the name given to Cook by Godfrey for her 2017 Vice article about the incident as a way of protecting her identity since she was a teenager (aged 15) when it happened.
Under the Bridge starts on ITV1 on Friday 25th July at 9pm.