Netflix’s latest number one show based on heartbreaking true story is leaving viewers in tears

It's based on a tragic murder from 2006.

Honour tells the true story of the 2006 murder of Banaz Mahmod, a 20-year-old Iraqi Kurdish woman from Mitcham, South London.

The young woman was murdered on the orders of her own family after she decided to leave her abusive forced marriage to start a relationship of her own choosing.

Her family had her killed in a so-called 'honour killing'. Her father, uncle and three cousins were later convicted of her murder.

The ITV drama, which was originally released in 2020, has quickly become Netflix UK's top-ranked show.

It stars Keeley Hawes (Bodyguard) as Detective Chief Inspector Caroline Goode, the real-life woman who led the Metropolitan Police Homicide and Serious Crime Command team in the investigation into Mahmod's tragic killing.

The two-part series has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Speaking to Radio Times about her role as DCI Goode, Hawes said: "These are real people and it's always going to be actually unimaginable what Banaz and her family have been through, and Caroline dedicated her life to this case.

"With something like this [Honour], we were all so mindful that we were dealing with real people – Banaz, Caroline, their families, everybody involved, the team."

Banaz's boyfriend, Rahmat Sulemani (played by Moe Bar-El in the show), reported her disappearance on 25th January 2006.

Police began an investigation, and discovered that Banaz had previously gone to the police multiple times, even providing officers with the names of the men who she believed were all ready to kill her. However, her allegations weren't taken seriously at the time.

Rahmat, who testified for the prosecution in the trials related to Banaz's murder, died by suicide in 2016, a decade after her death.

Since the programme became available to stream on Netflix, viewers have taken to social media to express their anger and sadness at the tragic story of what happened to Banaz.

Writing on X, one person said: "I cried… so so sad. So so evil.

"I hope she rests in peace and feel so bad for her bf and that he ended up committing suicide as he was so heartbroken so awful all around."

Another person wrote: "People should watch the Netflix series Honour. It’s an extraordinarily powerful account of the police investigation into the so-called ‘honour’ killing of Banaz Mahmod, a 20 year old British Kurdish woman.

"It’s hard to watch, but important, from a social/policing perspective."

One other user pointed out the failures of the police to take Mahmod's appeals for help and protection seriously.

They wrote: "Watching Honour on Netflix and she reported it to the police, even did a statement. Went to the police FOUR times.

"This was in 2006/2007, and nothing has changed to protect women, and they tried to arrest HER."

Another added: "Honour on Netflix is so sad. I have no words it’s just sad. I would hope if this was to happen today their community would speak up but I’m not sure that’s the case."