As ITV prepare to debut the three part true crime drama to millions of viewers, the cast for The Hunt for Raoul Moat has now been confirmed.
It's been 13 years since, right after his release from prison, former Newcastle doorman Moat headed to Birtley and shot ex Samantha Stobbart, leaving her in hospital and killed her new boyfriend Christopher Brown. As he journeyed to the outskirts of Newcastle, Moat then fired a gun at on duty police officer PC David Rathband, blinding him as he sat in a stationary patrol car.
With the help of accomplices, Moat headed up to Northumberland was a wide scale police search was launched to find him. The week long man hunt concluded with a fraught stand-off between Moat and police, which came to an end when the killer turned his gun on himself, dying from his injuries.
READ MORE: Why Paul Gascoigne has been 'cut' from ITV Raoul Moat drama
Following a documentary - Manhunt - in 2010, ITV are now gearing up to debut The Hunt for Raoul Moat, with it's start date confirmed as Sunday, April 16. The drama will run over three consecutive nights and feature a host of famous faces.
The Hunt for Raoul Moat cast on ITV
Raoul Moat - Matt Stokoe
The job of playing the title role falls on the shoulders of County Durham born actor Matt, who has previously appeared in BBC's Bodyguard and The Musketeers.
Talking about how difficult he found playing the part of the killer, Matt said: "By the end of a job, it was like my central nervous system didn't know the difference. I was left feeling like I'd been through some sadness or grief; I was moping around for weeks.
"Most of the time when you finish a job you're on cloud nine, but that wasn't the case. It felt very cleansing to shave the mohawk off; it felt very oppressive by the end."
Detective Chief Superintendent Neil Adamson - Lee Ingelby
A well known face to BBV viewers, thanks to his roles in Line of Duty and Inspector George Gently, Lee is playing the police chief who led the large scale search for Moat; leading press conferences, ordering a media blackout at one point after a threat from Moat to the wider public and being on the scene for the final stand-off in Rothbury.
Talking about his role, Lee said: "“I spoke to Neil Adamson, who is now retired, and a few other police officers who were involved. Neil was the face of the police investigation but I portray an amalgamation of a few people and jobs pulled into one. Otherwise it would be just too confusing a watch to figure out who was doing what.”
Diane Barnwell - Sonya Cassidy
Sonya has been on screens in an array of different roles to date, including the remake of The Man Who Fell To Earth, The Paradise and Vera.
In The Hunt For Raoul Moat she plays Chronicle reporter Diane, the first journalist on the scene after the Birtley shootings and who is in constant contact with the police throughout the week-long man hunt as she tries to keep abreast of the biggest breaking story of her career to date.
Samantha Stobbart - Sally Messham
Born in Teesside, Sally takes on the tough role of Moat's ex Samantha, who started a relationship with Christopher Brown before Moat was released from prison and shot him dead.
Sally has been in films like Our Girls, Aftersun and Artemis Fowl, as well as on TV in Doc Martin.
Christopher Brown - Josef Davis
Josef plays Chris, the karate instructor who got romantically involved with Samantha, before being gunned down and killed by Moat.
The actor has starred alongside Stephen Graham in The Walk-In and also in 1917, Young Wallander and the life action remake of Dumbo.
Nisha Roberts - Vineeta Rishi
Raised in Newcastle, Vineeta has appeared in a number of TV shows in her career so far, including Boy Meets Girl, Murdered By My Father, The Last Detective and Vera, playing character Nita Dajani in the hit ITV drama.
She plays Nisha, one of the police detectives who works alongside Neil Adamson on the hunt for Moat.
Other cast members
Other recognisable faces in The Hunt for Raoul Moat include former Coronation Street star Bill Ward as police detective Steve, Byker Grove and Emmerdale favourite Dale Meeks as one of Moat's friends, Jessica Johnson (Wire in the Blood) as Suzie Clarke, Gavin O'Connor (Galactik Football) as Steve Neill - Northumbria Police's Chief Superintendent and Hebburn actor Neil Grainger as the editor of the Chronicle.
Moat's accomplices Karl Ness and Qhuram Awan are played by Joe Blackmore and Anand Toora
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