They both have piercing eyes, a passion for fashion and a lust for lovers... and blood. One is fictional – Villanelle, the female assassin played by Jodie Comer in hit TV series Killing Eve.
The other is Idoia López Riaño – once Spain’s most-wanted killer and the inspiration for Villanelle. Like the TV character, Riaño was obsessed with her image and was nicknamed La Tigresa – The Tigress – for her sexual prowess.
As part of Basque terrorist group ETA, she was behind 23 murders, including at least 17 paramilitary police, and served 23 years in jail.
British author Luke Jennings wrote Codename Villanelle – which inspired Killing Eve – after reading about Riaño. He said: “She was clearly a psychopath and completely, completely without