After weeks of adverts and teasers, on Sunday night ITV will launch its drama about late murderer Raoul Moat, who sparked a massive man hunt in the summer of 2010, before killing himself with a gun shot.
Former bouncer Moat made headlines after, just days after being released from Durham prison, he headed to the home of ex girlfriend Samantha Stobbart in Birtley and shot her and her new boyfriend Christopher Brown, who died as a result of his injuries. On his way out of Newcastle, Moat fired at PC David Rathband who was on duty on a roundabout on the outskirts of the city, blinding him and leaving him seriously injured in hospital.
Former partner Samantha was also in hospital under police guard as Moat went into hiding, heading north to the peaceful Northumberland town of Rothbury. The idyllic location soon became the prime focus of the police manhunt and a media frenzy as the net closed in on Moat. The killer also made threats to kill the public in a voice recording which heard him say: "The next lie I see in the paper I will kill an innocent of the public. For every lie I see in that paper, any paper I will kill an innocent member of the public."
READ MORE: Why Paul Gascoigne has been 'cut' from ITV Raoul Moat drama
Almost a week on from killing Brown, Moat became locked into a tense stand-off with police on a Rothbury river bank, which famously saw Paul Gascoigne turn up with a fishing rod and cooked chicken, before Moat shot himself, dying from his injuries as he was rushed to Newcastle General Hospital.
Who is playing Raoul Moat in ITV drama?
After a documentary on Moat aired on the channel in 2020, ITV confirmed last year that the dramatic events will be adapted into a TV drama: The Hunt For Raoul Moat. And, when the news broke of the series going into production, the bug question everyone had was who is playing Moat. Well the answer is Matt Stokoe.
Matt, 34 is from County Durham and is best known for playing Alex in the Channel 4 series Misfits, crime boss Luke Aikens in the thriller Bodyguard, teacher Gerard Eyre in The Village, Captain Marcheaux in series 3 of The Musketeers for the BBC.
*Sign up to get the latest TV and showbiz news straight to your inbox with the Chronicle TV and celebs newsletter. If you can't see the form below, click HERE
READ NEXT:
