Few do drama based on true stories better than ITV. Its true crime catalogue includes dramatisations of the White House Farm murders, the story of serial killer Dennis Nilsen and the murder of Rhys Jones in Little Boy Blue.
Stephen Graham takes the leading role, of activist Matthew Collins, a reformed Neo-Nazi now working as a journalist for the anti-racist organisation, Hope Not Hate. The drama examines the rise of the terrorist organisation National Front in the wake of the murder of MP Jo Cox.
It has been described by The Guardian as "one of the best TV investments you can make". While The Independent called it: "A disturbing, unflinching portrait of British neo-Nazism".
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Who is Matthew Collins?
Matthew Collins, the face of the drama, spent his youth among groups in the violent and extremist far-Right. He wrote a memoir in 2011, Hate: My Life in the British Far Right, and co-wrote a second book, 2019's Nazi Terrorist: The Story of National Action, which is the inspiration for the series.
Speaking to The Independent, Collins explained what he got from such extremism: "For me, there was always this search for male role models. We had excellent female role models ... but no men to look up to on our estate.
"The far right gave me a safe environment. There was lots of violence, but they elevated me.
"They took me into pubs at 15. I would be picked up from home in a car, and taken to clubs.
"They taught me things. They treated me as if I was bright.”
Rising through the ranks, Collins became high-up in National Action and worked for the BNP. He took to the streets with Combat 18 and joined in with violent demonstrations and riots.
The final straw for Collins was an attack on a library in south-east London in 1989, where mainly women were the victims of assault. He told The Independent that he "couldn't see what freedom of speech and fighting for British democracy had anything to do with stamping on little old ladies' heads".
He said: "It was real hatred. I began to see it was all about destroying people's lives.
"Violence was the only way they could affect change. I was standing in the library watching people getting their heads kicked in for attending a discussion, and I thought 'I'm on the wrong side'."
With the assistance of an anti-fascist magazine Searchlight, Collins passed information about members of the groups and their plans leading to a number of arrests. Once discovered, threats were made on his life and he was forced to move to Australia for a decade.
He returned to the UK in 2004 where he went public with his story in the BBC documentary Dead Man Walking. Since then, he has written a memoir, Hate: My Life in the British Far Right, and co-wrote a second book, 2019's Nazi Terrorist: The Story of National Action.
Collins continues to work for Hope not Hate to this day.
When is The Walk-In on TV?
The first episode of The Walk-In was shown on ITV on Monday October 3. The series will continue weekly, every Monday at 9pm.
For those who can't wait to see what happens next, the whole series is available to stream on the ITV Hub.
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