The killer Villanelle in the BBC hit drama series Killing Eve, now in its third season, is a psychopath, with absolutely no remorse or regret in her sadistic ‘hits’ that she makes in time.
Portrayed by the phenomenal and the acclaimed actress Jodie Comer, the killer-for-hire is a gang member of The Twelve, with a love-and-hate chase happening with M16 agent Eve Polatri, portrayed by another renowned actress Sandra Oh.
It is however not widely known that the series is inspired by true events and an existing character – one who is very much alive and healthy in the current era.
The original intent of the series, revealed by the creators, was to bring a totally masculine genre of thrillers to have a feminine turn of interpretation. And the character in it was as ruthless and nonconforming to gender norms. Introducing Idoia Lopez Riano, the 80s’ most wanted female assassin for Eta, Basque separatist group and infamous for its hit and run operations.
In total, she killed 23, including 12 Civil Guards in one bomb attack. Finally caught in 1994, she was handed a 1,500-year jail sentence but later renounced terror and has been free to roam the free realm since 2017, aged 52.
She was very much known for attracting her targets to bed, having a “sadistic penchant for luring police officers to bed, before gunning down their colleagues.” She was also known to be disco-loving, tousle-haired killer, granting her the the nickname ‘La Tigresa’.
Like Villanelle, she often paused to admire her reflection before executing her next victim. The similarities are glaringly evident, with Jennings himself saying: ‘Riano was a psychopath and completely without empathy.’
Howeve, there is a twist to the story as Riano’s mother last night have claimed that her daughter now works for none other than the Red Cross.
Speaking last week from her home in the tiny village of Villar de Ciervo near the Portuguese border, her mother, Mari Riano, 86, said she’s ‘proud’ of her daughter who has been ‘turning things around’. She said: ‘She speaks three or four languages and is throwing herself into the work.
Idoia is with the Red Cross in Barcelona. Everyone loves her there.’
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