Fighting the racists from within

THE WALK-IN ITV, 9pm

STEPHEN Graham gives a powerful performance in this gritty real-life story of a reformed neo-Nazi.

He plays activist Matthew Collins, once a white supremacist filled with hate, now working as a journalist for the anti-racist organisation, Hope not Hate.

Written by the award-winning screenwriter Jeff Pope, the drama is an explosive state-of-the-world series that explores thorny issues of modern times including racism, freedom of speech and terrorism.

This begins with a shocking terror attack, as a Muslim shopping in a supermarket is attacked by a white man wielding a hammer and a wrench yelling “White power”.

Then it cuts to Matthew giving a lecture to college students.

Pointing to a man in a photo taken 20 years ago, he says: “He was one of the leading lights in the far-right in this country. Horrible, nasty, vicious, he used to beat people up just because he believed he was better than them.

“That’s me in that photograph. “We have to believe that people filled with hate can change. I changed.”

Matthew has a difficult life. The police want his help in seeking out terrorists and he must penetrate an ultra far-right group. But he receives daily death threats and constantly has to move house.

He has a wife (played by Leanne Best) and two young sons at home who just want stability.

In a sub-plot, we also meet another young man, unemployed and dissatisfied, and watch how easily he becomes brainwashed into blaming non-whites for his situation.

It’s thought-provoking drama that explores hate and whether racists’ minds can be changed.