‘The Hunt For Raoul Moat’: ITV Drama To Tell Story Of Britain’s Biggest Manhunt; ‘Line of Duty’ Producer World Attached

Camera are rolling on an ITV drama that tells the true story of Britain’s biggest ever police manhunt.

The Hunt For Raoul Moat will explore the major 2010 police operation to apprehend fugitive Raoul Moat, who went on the run in Northumbria after killing one person and wounding two others.

The drama focuses on the innocent victims of Moat’s crimes – Christopher Brown, Samantha Stobbart and PC David Rathband; the police officers who put themselves in the firing line to apprehend Moat; and a local journalist who sought to tell Moat’s real story in a landscape of sensationalist reporting and social media provocation.

It will begin with Moat ex-partner Stobbart piecing her life back together following Moat’s imprisonment for assault. After he is released, he attempts to rekindle their relationship but when Moat realises that won’t happen, arms himself with a shotgun and confronts her and new partner Brown.

Lee Ingleby (Criminal UK, The A Word) stars as Senior Northumbria Police Officer Neil Adamson, Sonya Cassidy (The Man Who Fell to Earth, The Last Kingdom) is local journalist Diane Barnwell, Sally Messham (Artemis Fowl, Doc Martin) plays Stobbart, Matt Stokoe (Cursed, Jamestown, Bodyguard) plays Moat and Josef Davis (Young Wallander, Chernobyl, Silent Witness) is Brown. Vineeta Rishi (Vera, Collateral) also stars.

Back in 2010, Moat became something of a ‘anti-hero’ cult figure in British media circles despite his crimes, with his story culminating in stand-off with police. This included a surreal episode when former England soccer star Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascoigne arrived with chicken, lager and a fishing rod and attempted to gain access the surrounded fugitive, who he claimed to know. Moat later shot himself and died.

Line of Duty and The Pembrokeshire Murders indie World Productions is producing in association with its parent, ITV Studios, which doubles as international distributor. Kevin Sampson, who wrote World’s ITV drama Anne, is penning the drama.

World CEO and Creative Director Simon Heath will executive produce alongside Head of Drama Jake Lushington, screenwriter Sampson and Mike Blair, which is from another ITV Studios label, MultiStory Media. Kim Crowther will produce and Gareth Bryn (Line of Duty, Last Tango in Halifax) directs.

ITV Head of Drama Polly ordered the drama. “The Hunt for Raoul Moat shines a light on the human tragedies behind the true story of Britain’s biggest ever manhunt to apprehend a violent killer.”