Thirteen years ago, former England footballer, Paul Gascoigne became an unlikely by-stander in a tragic news story - when he bizarrely turned up during a stand-off between a gunman and police. However, according to a report, the footballer will not appear in ITV's The Hunt for Raoul Moat, despite turning up at the scene of the killer's final stand-off.
The violent former nightclub bouncer had already claimed three victims, leaving one dead and two injured. Gazza's appearance at the scene was documented by news channels covering the story. However, the show's producer says the decision was taken not to feature Gazza, because his appearance had 'nothing to do' with the story they're trying to tell.
According to Chronicle Live, Moat shot and wounded his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart, killed her new boyfriend Christopher Brown and blinded PC David Rathband. The week long manhunt came to a climax on the banks of the River Coquet in Rothbury, Northumberland. The man hunt became huge news with the gunman even making threats to the wider public after becoming incensed by some of the coverage about him in national newspapers.
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Eventually, after an abandoned tent belonging to Moat had been found in woodland, a stand-off with police followed. However, in a strange turn of events, Gazza turned up armed with a fishing road, lager and a cooked chicken.
The England international, was battling addiction at the time and The Mirror reports that a few years later, he admitted he had been drinking and taken cocaine that night. The former Spurs and England player told fans at an Audience with night: "I was telling the taxi driver I could save him. I told him: Listen, I have been through so much, I am the best therapist in the world, I can save him’. I think that I genuinely believed that."
True crime drama The Hunt for Raoul Moat will debut on ITV1 on Sunday, April 16 but the team behind the three part series, with a cast including Matt Stoke as Moat and Lee Ingleby as DCS Neil Adamson of Northumbria Police, have confirmed that, while Gazza will be mentioned, no-one will be playing him on screen.
In a press conference ahead of it's launch, the show's executive producer, Jake Lushington explained why Gazza is largely absent from the adaptation, saying: "For us, the story is Raoul Moat's crimes and the efforts to bring him to justice.
"The surprise brief and not very successful intervention from someone famous (Gazza) became a big story at the time but it didn't change the events at all. We've referred to it, but it's got nothing to do with the story we're trying to tell."
He added: "We haven't minimised the impact of Gazza turning up because it didn't have one."
The Hunt for Raoul Moat's writer, Kevin Sampson, also commented on the decision saying: "Paul Gascoigne was clearly not in a good place at that time. If It felt like we were sending somebody up who was struggling, we'd have to question our motives."
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