TRUTH UNFOLDS
Actor Stephen Graham reveals his honour to be part of this gripping new drama based after the murder of MP Jo Cox
Prepare to be gripped with ITV’s latest drama The Walk-In, a series that tells the astonishing true story of how a neo-Nazi plan to murder Labour MP Rosie Cooper in 2017 was foiled by an inside man.
Written by award-winning screenwriter Jeff Pope, the five-part drama stars Stephen Graham as real-life activist Matthew Collins, himself a reformed neo-Nazi, who is currently a researcher and Head of Intelligence for the anti-fascist and anti-racist campaign group Hope Not Hate.
The series sees Collins attempting to stop the radicalisation of young white men before it begins. This is how he found himself the handler of the mole, or walk in, Robbie Mullins, who was a member of National Action, the group responsible for the horrific murder of MP Jo Cox.
“I didn’t know much about the story to be honest, not loads,” Stephen said of the role. “I remember the horrific incident of what happened to Jo Cox MP but I think that was mostly it that I knew.
“I did a lot of research, I watched documentaries, I read Matthew Collins’s book and I really looked into what was happening at the time and found lots of news footage and articles
Yes, it’s hard hitting and pulls no punches. But I think it’s very important we have drama like this which tells the truth. Stephen Graham
so I did dive into the research to see what information I could gain. It really opened my eyes to what actually happened.” In fact, the big draw for Stephen when it came to signing on the dotted line was the opportunity to work with Jeff Pope and also director Paul Andrew Williams. “I think Jeff is a fantastic writer and we’ve got a really good relationship. When he sent me the idea, I was just interested straight away,” he added. Stephen’s character is a complex one. In his youth, Collins was the South London organiser for the National Front, a volunteer for the British National Party’s head office and a member of Combat 18.
He turned informer after an incident known as the Battle of Welling Library which saw 40 men viciously attack a group of elderly people who were protesting about the BNP setting up their head office in that area of south London.
However, this put his life in danger and the then 21-year-old was given a fixed residency visa for a Commonwealth country and put on a plane to a new life in Australia, leaving behind his family, job, girlfriend and everything he owned. He was in hiding from 1993 until 2003 when he returned to the UK and undertook his current work.
With so much sensitive backstory, Stephen is well aware of the enormity of the part.
“It’s a gift of a role for an actor to go from a man who started off his life one way and had one way of thinking and then did a complete transformation, 180 degrees completely the other end of the spectrum,” he said.
No stranger to hard-hitting, often difficult to watch, dramas Stephen thinks that it’s important to tell stories like this. He said: “Yes, it’s hard hitting and it pulls no punches but I think it’s very important we have drama like this which tells the truth of stories and, for me personally, it’s the reason why I choose the scripts I do. I love to go into people’s living rooms with the drama we are doing and hopefully create conversation and debate and try to bring about some discussion about what they’re watching.
“Don’t get me wrong it’s entertainment at the end of the day, that’s what it is. But it’s important for me as an actor to be part of something that is a social commentary. I’m exceptionally proud of it. It’s been an honour to be a part of this project.”