On the same day that ITV confirmed that the drama was happening, the cast of The Hunt for Raoul Moat were already on set filming scenes for the series about the murderer who made headlines 12 years ago.
The manhunt for former bouncer Moat started after, just days after being released from prison, he lay in wait outside the home of ex Samantha Stobbart, before shooting her and her new partner Christopher Brown, with Brown dying from his injuries. As police mounted a search for him, Moat then fired at an on duty police car on a roundabout on the outskirts on the city.
PC David Rathband was in the patrol vehicle and was blinded when Moat shot him in the face. After sustaining life changing injuries, Rathband took his own life years later. Moat was eventually tracked down to the quiet and picturesque village of Rothbury in Northumberland. Officers and the country’s media headed to the countryside, with the manhunt concluding when, after a tense river bank stand off with police, Moat shot himself, dying from his injuries as he was rushed to Newcastle General Hospital.
