The Walk-in
Stephen Graham plays a reformed man taking on dangerous extremists in a hard-hitting true story…
Mon, 9pm, ITV Drama (box set, ITV Hub)
Stephen Graham leads the cast in this five-part drama based on the true story of reformed neo-nazi Matthew Collins, who now works as a journalist for the anti-racist organisation Hope Not Hate. He identifies a right-wing terrorist group hell-bent on starting a race war and, with the help of a mole, eventually helps foil a plot to murder an MP. Other stars include Jason Flemyng, Leanne Best, Dean-charles Chapman and Christopher Coghill.
Enter the dark and twisted world of the far right in this powerful drama based on a shocking true story as it follows a reformed racist, played by Stephen Graham, and his battle to foil a plot to kill an MP.
The five-parter, written by Jeff Pope, opens in 2015 with Matthew Collins determined to make amends for his past by working as a journalist for the anti-racist organisation Hope Not Hate. Matthew is deeply concerned by a new extreme right-wing group called National Action, but his efforts to infiltrate them have failed.
‘I had a vague idea of the real story, but as soon as I started doing research and reading Matthew’s book, I realised there was no way I wasn’t going to do the drama,’ says Line of Duty star Stephen, who plays Matthew. ‘He started off one way and did a total transformation in his way of thinking, which made him a fascinating character to play.’
Dark path
Meanwhile, in Widnes, a disillusioned young man named Robbie Mullen (Andrew Ellis) finds himself drawn into the dark world of the far right after attending a National Action march and listening to the speeches of Jack Renshaw, played by Game of Thrones’ Dean-charles Chapman.
‘I’ve known Andrew for years and worked with him on This Is England,’ explains Stephen. ‘He’s an outgoing and lively guy, so it was always strange to come on set when he was in character as Robbie, because his whole demeanour would completely transform!’
As the story unfolds, Matthew hopes Robbie can get inside National Action, but he’s also worried about reprisal attacks on his wife, Alison (Leanne Best), and their children from the right-wing thugs he used to call friends in the 1990s.
‘It’s a hard-hitting story that pulls no punches,’ says Stephen. ‘But it’s very important we have dramas like this that bring people the truth about these stories to start conversations.’