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Elle
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Elle
Separating Fact From Fiction In ITV's Real Life Crime Thriller 'Under The Bridge'
'Hell is a teenage girl,' or so goes the phrase made infamous by the 2009 film Jennifer's Body, now a cult classic for its sly depiction of feminine rage. But a young girl's rage can be as terrible as it is cathartic, as easily co-opted as misunderstood. Both are sentiments untangled in the Hulu series Under the Bridge, now showing on ITV and adapted from Rebecca Godfrey's celebrated 2005 true-crime book of the same name. The book and series track the 1997 death of Reena Virk—a British Columbian 14-year-old girl who was beaten and drowned in a saltwater inlet known as the Gorge Waterway—and the subsequent murder investigation, which resulted in the sentencing of six teenage girls and one boy. To adapt the story for television, series creator Quinn Shephard worked closely with Godfrey in the years leading up to Godfrey's death from lung cancer in October 2022, and, per The Wrap, Godfrey herself opted for Daisy Jones and the Six actress Riley Keough to portray her in the Hulu adaptation. The series pulls the bulk of its plot and characters from Godfrey's investigation (her book, as well as her various notes and transcripts), and from a memoir published by Reena's father, Manjit Virk, in 2008. But Shephard and her collaborators are transparent about the numerous fictionalized and invented details within the show, including changed names, shuffled timelines, and a cop character played by Killers of the Flower Moon actress Lily Gladstone. As Shephard told in an exclusive first look at the show, the writers had 'a lot of conversations about responsible fictionalization. How could we tell a story that felt like it spoke to a universal truth about being a child when we were missing certain details? But we still wanted [Reena] to feel like a meaningful character in the series.' Although the series never purports to display a full, 100-percent accurate portrait of Reena's death, it is nevertheless worth parsing the details of the case to better understand where the show delves into creative license. Ahead, a few important questions to consider when separating the fact from the fictionalized in Under the Bridge. Reena, daughter of Manjit Virk and Suman Virk, was a student at Colquitz Junior Secondary in Victoria, British Columbia. In her book, Godfrey described Reena as possessing 'a rare combination of boldness and innocence,' and that she was 'dark skinned and heavy in a town and time that valued the thin and the blonde.' She was the daughter of an Indian immigrant, Manjit, and an Indo-Canadian, Suman, whose family had converted from Hinduism to the Jehovah's Witness faith soon after Reena's grandmother, Tarsem, first arrived in Canada. Reena, at 14, liked Biggie and Bollywood movies. According to Godfrey, Reena 'had announced that she did not want to be a Jehovah's Witness any longer' by the time of her death, and had rebelled against the rules of her household by skipping meals, smoking cigarettes, changing her clothes, and running away from home. When the Associated Press first reported on Reena's 'grisly' murder, it cited a person 'close to the victim's family,' who 'described Ms. Virk as an occasional runaway who did not get along well with her parents.' In the same story, Manjit told the AP that his daughter's 'biggest problem was her associations, her friends.' Under the Bridge executive producer Samir Mehta told he was intrigued by the project, in part, because of 'the opportunity to tell the story of an Indian child of an immigrant. It's an interesting opportunity to just dig into that dynamic, which I feel like we haven't really seen a lot of on TV.' Yes. According to a CBC News article published in 2006, Reena informed social workers in 1996 that she'd been physically, sexually, and mentally abused in the Virks' home, an accusation that led to Manjit's arrest. An MSNBC program centered on Reena's murder ran in 2011, titled Bloodlust Under the Bridge, and reported that 'the Virks say Reena was lured into making false accusations by her friends, who had convinced her that being put into foster care would catapult her into teen paradise.' She would be 'free of her parents and all their rules.' Reena left her family's home and went into the care of the Canadian Ministry of Families and Children in the fall of 1996, and after a couple of months, per MSNBC, she made the accusation against Manjit. After a few months in foster care, Reena told her parents she was 'tired of the foster home' and returned to living with them, dropping the charges against her father. A report published in 2006 by the British Columbia Coroners Service found that 'social workers failed Reena Virk by putting her in foster care without confirming whether her allegations of family abuse were true.' According to CBC News, the allegations against Reena's parents 'tore the family apart.' Reena's mother, Suman, told the Victoria Times-Colonist that 'these [social workers] are trained professionals, and they couldn't clue in that this child was a total storyteller.' Reena's official cause of death was drowning. The following account is outlined in Godfrey's book: On Friday, November 14, 1997, teenagers Josephine and Dusty (both pseudonyms employed by Godfrey) invited Reena to a party. Reena agreed to attend—though she hesitated, as she'd recently been caught spreading rumors about Josephine—and told her family she'd return by 10pm. That evening, the trio joined a much larger group of students on a field at Shoreline School, where they watched a Russian satellite explode in the sky at 9.12pm. Soon after the unexpected light show, a girl whom Godfrey referred to as 'Laila' walked onto the field and announced she'd been called upon to 'fight a girl.' Reena, guessing Josephine had brought in Laila to exact retribution for the rumors, started to run. A number of girls caught up with Reena, and they tore up her bus pass as she called her little brother from a phone booth, telling him she'd be home soon. The girls then pulled Reena down under the bridge along the Gorge Waterway, where Josephine reportedly screamed at Reena for 'trying to ruin my life'. She then held her lit cigarette against Reena's forehead, igniting the fight that would eventually end Reena's life. Although Godfrey reports there were 14 girls and two boys under the bridge that night, a handful of them actively participated in beating Reena. Laila eventually broke up the fight, leaving Reena alone and bleeding. As the first three episodes of Under the Bridge depict, an injured-but-alive Reena initially walked away from the scene, only to be followed by two teenagers—Kelly Marie Ellard and Warren Glowatski—who continued the brutal attack. At the water's edge, Kelly then held Reena's head underwater and drowned her. Six girls, including Josephine, Dusty, and Kelly, were sentenced for their involvement in the assault. Warren and Kelly were eventually convicted of second-degree murder. In Under the Bridge, both the book and show, a number of names are changed, including for the characters of Josephine (played by Chloe Guidry) and Dusty (played by Aiyana Goodfellow). The real names of the girls involved—apart from Kelly Marie Ellard (played by Izzy G.), whose real name is used—were Nicole Cook, Missy Grace Pleich, Nicole Patterson, Gail Ooms, and Courtney Keith. Warren Glowatski's real name is used in both the book and show. Izzy G's Kelly Ellard is depicted, in the show's eighth and final episode, repeatedly denying that she killed Reena. When she takes the stand during her and Warren Glowatski's trial, she occasionally veers into a sudden and bizarre British accent. This behavior echoes what Godfrey laid out in her book, in which the author writes: 'Kelly told her story of the evening and as she spoke, her voice took on a clipped, precise tone, both prim and concise, and occasionally it seemed she was using a British accent ... It seemed then that Kelly must have stood up, though she remained seated, and yet her voice was so loud and forceful as she screamed: "I did not kill Reena Virk and I will repeat it and repeat it and I will stick with that until the day I die! I don't care how much jail time I do, I did not kill Reena Virk. I will still say I did not kill Reena Virk until the day I die. I don't care if I get another life sentence but I did not kill Reena Virk!"' In her book, Godfrey rarely mentions herself; she is not a character in the story, let alone a major one. As the author told The Believer in 2019, 'I don't know if it was an issue of ego, or an artistic choice, but either way, I didn't think my role as reporter was interesting or necessary. I suppose I was also skittish about the parallels with my own life. I didn't want to talk about my brother's death or my own troubled adolescence in Victoria.' In the series, Keough is one of the lead actresses, and a significant amount of screen time is spent focusing specifically on Godfrey's role in the story, including her background as a kid in Victoria and her real-life brother's drowning. As Shephard told Godfrey helped the adaptation team develop the fictionalized 'TV Rebecca' in order to 'make her into a dynamic leading character.' Shephard similarly told The Wrap that she'd come up with the idea of fictionalizing Godfrey before she'd even had a chance to meet the author. The series creator shared that making Godfrey a character was integral to not only 'explor[ing] the book,' but also to 'zoom out from it as the only definitive account of the crime.' In the Hulu series, Keough's Godfrey refers multiple times to her late brother, Gabe, and his tragic death. This, too, is pulled from reality: The real-life Godfrey's brother was named Jonathan, and when he was 16, he 'fell from a bluff near [the family's] home and drowned,' per Godfrey's New York Times obituary. 'I had a fraught and very difficult teenage experience—my brother drowned when I was thirteen,' she told The Believer. 'I went a little wild after that and lost interest in high school, and got into the punk scene in downtown Victoria. Being in that scene was great because I could hide behind this mask of anger and coolness and toughness, and think, "Oh, I look scary, so everyone will leave me alone." In retrospect, I'm sure I didn't look as tough as I thought I did, but the music and that crowd was a good disguise.' Police officer Cam Bentland is one of few entirely invented components in Under the Bridge. A composite character representing multiple police sources Godfrey worked with during her reporting, Cam is an Indigenous cop adopted by a white family, and her history with the 'TV Rebecca' is a loaded one. Gladstone felt the character's identity added a layer of nuance that the book itself had not addressed, as she told the New York Times: 'The murder happened just by tribal land. The bridge connects the municipality to a reserve. So inherently, there's a First Nations presence in the story. I thought it was a brilliant construction to have a First Nations, adopted cop, who feels compelled to Reena in a way that becomes clearer and clearer to her.' In 2007, Warren Glowatski went up for parole. With the the help of the Virks—who 'explained to the parole board that Warren was on a good path and they did not want to stop his release,' according to Godfrey's book—he was released on full parole in June 2010, after having spent 11 years in prison. At the time of his release, CBC reported that Glowatski was living 'part-time in an apartment and going to school' but felt as if he 'had a big letter "C" for criminal, tattooed on his forehead.' He has since stayed away from the spotlight and has not commented on Under the Bridge. In 2005, Ellard was ultimately sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for seven years. It wasn't until 2017 that Ellard was granted day parole—meaning she would be allowed to navigate society during the day and return to a facility at night. By the time she requested a parole extension in 2018, Ellard had changed her name to Kerry Marie Sim. She had also, at last, confessed to her role in Reena's murder. (According to Godfrey, she described her involvement as such: '[Reena] drowned and I put her in the water.') Today, Ellard a.k.a. Sim lives in a residential facility in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. Having given birth to her first child in prison and her second while on day parole, she has 'often blamed [her] inability to move forward on the requirement to reside at the community-based residential facility, the high cost of living, parenting struggles as a single mother, and [her] ex-spouse abandoning [her] and [her] children,' according to parole documents cited by CBC. She is not allowed any contact with the Virk family. ELLE Collective is a new community of fashion, beauty and culture lovers. For access to exclusive content, events, inspiring advice from our Editors and industry experts, as well the opportunity to meet designers, thought-leaders and stylists, become a member today HERE.
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Under the Bridge plot, full cast and release date as new crime series lands on ITV
Under the Bridge is a new true crime drama series landing on ITV telling the harrowing story of Reena Virk= A brand new telly series is set to hit ITV and it's a must-see for all crime drama enthusiasts. Under the Bridge, an eight-part drama, recounts the chilling true story of Reena Virk. The show initially premiered on Hulu in April, but is now set to arrive on ITV for UK viewers. The crime series was crafted by Quinn Shephard, famed for directing the film Blame and starring in titles such as Midnight Sun, The Miseducation of Cameron Post and Sweet, Sweet Lonely Girl. As Under the Bridge gears up to debut on ITV, we've compiled everything you need to know about the series, from the cast to the plot.... What is Under the Bridge about? Under the Bridge is adapted from the book of the same name, penned by journalist Rebecca Godfrey, which narrates the true story of 14 year old Reena Virk. The TV series is the brainchild of Quinn Shephard, reports the Express. In 1997, Reena went to join her mates at a party on an island in British Columbia, Canada, but tragically never made it back home. Seven teenage girls and a lad were accused of Reena's murder. In the series, the tale is told through the eyes of Rebecca and local police officer Cam Bentland (Lily Gladstone). Viewers are given a glimpse into the lives of the teenagers accused of murder, revealing some shocking truths along the way. The official synopsis for Under the Bridge reads: "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. "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." Is Under the Bridge based on a true story? Under the Bridge draws from the real-life case of Reena Virk, though certain elements in the programme are fictionalised, with particular names and chronology being modified. Reena was brutally attacked and murdered on 14 November 1997 by a gang of teenagers in Saanich, with her body discovered eight days afterwards in a local waterway. Eight adolescents faced trial and were found guilty in connection with Reena's horrific death, with six teens - known as the Shoreline Six - convicted of assault, whilst two others were found guilty of murder. Who is in the cast of Under the Bridge? Under the Bridge features an impressive ensemble cast, headlined by Riley Keough, who takes on the role of Rebecca Godfrey in the production. The cast includes Archie Panjabi as Suman Virk, Lily Gladstone portraying Cam Bentland, Vritika Gupta as Reena Virk, Chloe Guidry playing Josephine Bell and Javon Walton in the role of Warren Glowatski. Izzy G stars as Kelly Ellard, whilst Aiyana Goodfellow takes on Dusty Pace, Ezra Faroque Khan plays Manjit Virk, Anoop Desai appears as Raj Masihajjar and Matt Craven features as Roy Bentland. Additional cast members include Daniel Diemer, Jared Ager-Foster, Maya Da Costa, Arta Negahban and Isabella Leon. How to watch Under the Bridge Under the Bridge debuted on Hulu on 17 April, and is now set to arrive on British television screens. The series comprises eight episodes, with the first one airing on ITV1 on 25 July at 9pm. The series will also be available on ITVX, providing telly enthusiasts an easy way to stream the episodes.
Tom's Guide
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
How to watch 'Under The Bridge' online from anywhere in the world
"Under The Bridge" is based on Rebecca Godfrey's book of the same name and tells the story of fourteen-year-old Reena Virk (played by Vritika Gupta) who went to meet her friends at a party and never came home. Godfrey (Riley Keough) and local police officer (Lily Gladstone) are our guides through the distressing hidden world of the young girls accused of the murder... Here's how to watch 'Under The Bridge" from anywhere with a VPN — and potentially for free. "Under The Bridge" has already premiered in U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand but arrives in U.K. on ITV1 on Friday, July 25 at 9 p.m. It will also be available to stream on ITVX. • FREE STREAM — ITV/ ITVX (U.K.)• U.S. — Hulu / Disney+ • Australia — SBS • Canada — CBC Gem • New Zealand — Disney+ • Watch anywhere — try NordVPN 100% risk-free Reena's murder and the sustained bullying that had taken place before it became the the focus of intense media coverage and public speculation. There were other factors at play - the suspects were mostly teenage girls, the victim was of Asian heritage and there was a racial aspect to the crime. Virk's parents were Jehovah's Witnesses ("a minority within a minority") and their strict religious views may have led to Leena rebelling at school inn attempt to gain acceptance from the very people who planned and carried out the attack upon her that led to her death. The murder by forcible drowning appears in the first episode the show but Reena's story continues to be told and developed by virtue of the inclusion of fictionalized versions of author Godfrey and police officer Cam Bentland in the script. They lean into the problems surrounding the case and lead us through. Read on to find out how to watch 'Under The Bridge" online and from anywhere. "Under The Bridge" arrives in U.K. on ITV1 on Friday, July 25 at 9 p.m. It will also be available to stream on ITVX. All episodes will also be available to stream live and on demand on ITVX for FREE. However, you will need a valid TV license to stream content live. If you're outside of the U.K. when it's on, you can use a VPN to get around the geo-restrictions that will prevent ITVX from working. Scroll down for more information and instructions. Thanks to the wonders of a VPN (Virtual Private Network), "Under The Bridge" should be available to Brits no matter where they are. The software allows your devices to appear to be back in your home country regardless of where in the world you find yourself. Our favorite is NordVPN – and you can find out why in our NordVPN review. NordVPN deal: FREE $50 / £50 Amazon gift card Boasting lightning fast speeds, great features, streaming power, and class-leading security, NordVPN is our #1 VPN. ✅ FREE Amazon gift card worth up to $50/£50✅ 4 months extra FREE!✅ 76% off usual price Use Nord to unblock ITVX and watch "Under The Bridge" online with our exclusive deal. Using a VPN is incredibly simple. 1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite. 2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance, if you're in the U.S. and want to view a British service, you'd select U.K. from the list. 3. Sit back and enjoy the show. Head to ITVX and stream "Under The Bridge" for free. "Under The Bridge" first showed in the U.S. in 2024 and is still available to stream on Hulu/ Disney+ Brits traveling in the U.S. who want to use their usual domestic streaming platform could look in to using a VPN to stream for free as they would back home. We recommend NordVPN. "Under The Bridge" first showed in Australia in 2024 and is still available to stream on SBS for FREE. Remember, if you're traveling and geo-blocking won't let you connect to the streaming platforms you use back home, purchasing a VPN will allow you to watch "Under The Bridge" online wherever you are. We recommend NordVPN. "Under The Bridge" first showed in Canada in 2024 and is still available to stream on CBC Gem. Brit abroad in Canada? Signing up to NordVPN will help you access your preferred streaming service when you're overseas. "Under The Bridge" first showed is available to stream on Disney+ in New Zealand. Remember, if you're traveling and geo-blocking won't let you connect to the streaming platforms you use back home, purchasing a VPN will allow you to watch "Under The Bridge" online, no matter where you are. We recommend NordVPN. Episode 1: "Looking Glass" - In 1997, on a quiet island in BC, fourteen-year-old Reena Virk attends a party and never returns home. Her disappearance intrigues a novelist returning to her hometown. Episode 2: "The John Gotti of Seven Oaks" - Cam is thrown by a shocking discovery, and the police rush to unravel what really happened under the bridge. Josephine makes a deal with Rebecca. Episode 3: "Blood Oath" - Upsetting news shakes the small town of Victoria, and as rumors surface, Rebecca and Cam reconnect. In the past, Reena enters Josephine's mafia fantasy world. Episode 4: "Beautiful British Colombia" - In 1979, Suman and Manjit fall in love, setting into motion a series of events that will change their lives forever. In 1997, the Seven Oaks girls come to the Virk house for a dinner to remember, Episode 5: "When The Heat Comes Down" - Tensions rise as suspicions surround the teens. Rebecca and Cam hatch a plan — but an unexpected detour leads Rebecca down a strange rabbit hole, resulting in a new bond. Episode 6: "In the Water They Sink As The Same" - Past and present wounds entwine as Rebecca and Cam's alliance is tested. The Virks discuss taking matters into their own hands, and the teens use a school dance as cover for their escape Episode 7: "Three and Seven" - The unfolding trial pushes Rebecca to the brink as she begins to question who she should defend. Cam's allegiance to the justice system is tested as details from the night of the murder are finally revealed. Episode 8: "Mercy Alone" - The last opportunity for justice arrives as all the participants reckon with their true involvement in the events that transpired. A radical choice of forgiveness allows for closure. Godfrey was a Canadian journalist turned award-winning novelist and non-fiction writer. "Under The Bridge", published in 2005, was her second book. Hollywood star Reese Witherspoon's Type-A production company optioned the rights. In 2017 she wrote an update on the case for Vice Magazine. Hulu announced that they had ordered the 8 part series above a week before Godfrey's death from complications due to lung cancer in September 2022 We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
The Print
22-07-2025
- The Print
JDA demolishes residential house of drug peddler built on its land in Jammu
The JDA team, led by Tehsildar Megha Gupta and assisted by police, carried out the demolition operation against the 'illegally' constructed residential structure at Rajeev Nagar in Tehsil Bahu, they said. The property belonged to Reena alias Roopa, wife of Bobby, a notorious drug peddler from Rajeev Nagar. Jammu, Jul 21 (PTI) Jammu Development Authority (JDA) on Monday demolished a residential house allegedly illegally constructed by a drug peddler on the authority's land in Jammu city, officials said. The demolished property belonged to Reena, a notorious drug peddler with a criminal background, against whom multiple cases have been registered in the city, they said. She was also detained under the Public Safety Act in 2019 due to her continued involvement in the drug trade and threat to public order, they added. On July 31, 2024, police successfully obtained confirmation of property attachment orders against Reena and three other notorious drug peddlers from the Rajeev Nagar and Ragoora areas. The property was identified as having been acquired through proceeds of narcotic drug trafficking, they said. PTI AB AMJ AMJ This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
News18
21-07-2025
- News18
JDA demolishes residential house of drug peddler built on its land in Jammu
Agency: PTI Jammu, Jul 21 (PTI) Jammu Development Authority (JDA) on Monday demolished a residential house allegedly illegally constructed by a drug peddler on the authority's land in Jammu city, officials said. The property belonged to Reena alias Roopa, wife of Bobby, a notorious drug peddler from Rajeev Nagar. The JDA team, led by Tehsildar Megha Gupta and assisted by police, carried out the demolition operation against the 'illegally" constructed residential structure at Rajeev Nagar in Tehsil Bahu, they said. The demolished property belonged to Reena, a notorious drug peddler with a criminal background, against whom multiple cases have been registered in the city, they said. She was also detained under the Public Safety Act in 2019 due to her continued involvement in the drug trade and threat to public order, they added. On July 31, 2024, police successfully obtained confirmation of property attachment orders against Reena and three other notorious drug peddlers from the Rajeev Nagar and Ragoora areas. The property was identified as having been acquired through proceeds of narcotic drug trafficking, they said. PTI AB AMJ AMJ Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
