When Neil Adamson became a police officer in 1986 he never once imagined that his chosen career would result in him having a character in a prime time television drama based on him.
But while leading the search for fugitive gunman Raoul Moat the Gateshead- born officer was thrust into the media spotlight as the country became gripped by the dramatic manhunt
And now after ITV announced that filming had begun on a drama about the hunt for Moat, Neil is preparing to watch an actor play him in the series.
Read more: Raoul Moat: A man on the run
Inspector George Gently star Lee Ingelby has been cast to play Neil, who was a Detective Chief Superintendent with Northumbria Police when Moat went on the run. And today Neil, who has now retired from the force, has told the Chronicle how he feels about being a lead character in a television drama.
The 56-year-old said: "I never expected it to happen, but I'm not surprised. We were just doing our day jobs and I was just one of hundreds of people at work doing our jobs.
"But it was a unique and tragic set of circumstances. I knew that story had to be told, I just hope it's done sympathetically and with respect for the victims."
Moat, 37, sparked one of the biggest manhunts in UK history when, on Saturday, July 3, 2010, he began his shooting spree in Birtley, Gateshead. The former doorman, from Fenham in Newcastle, was waiting for his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart and her new boyfriend Christopher Brown when they came out of a neighbour’s home during the early hours of the morning.
With little warning Moat, who had been released from prison two days earlier, shot Christopher twice. The 29-year-old was killed instantly. Moat then turned his gun on 22-year-old Samantha, who he shot twice and left critically injured.
Less than 24 hours later, Moat crept up on PC David Rathband as he sat in his patrol car in Newcastle and blasted the 42-year-old officer in the face, before disappearing into the night.
Moments earlier the gunman had called Northumbria Police from a payphone declaring he was "hunting" officers.
Neil, who was head of CID at the time, was placed in charge of the investigation to track down Moat.
As the public followed the search intently, Neil quickly realised this was going to be the most high profile job of his career.
"What made it so unique is you have got an individual clearly hell bent on causing harm," he said. He was threatening the police and he had the means, the intent and the capability to carry it out. He had already proven he would do it."
Neil joined Northumbria Police in 1986 as a PC in Newcastle city centre before rising through the ranks to become a senior detective.
But he could never have predicted his work would become part of a drama.
"It never ever crossed my mind," he said. "The thought of dealing with serious incidents and investigations is what you dream of doing when you join the police, but never did I dream there would be an incident like this."
Neil recently discovered his character would be played by Burnley-born Ingelby, who has also starred in BBC drama The A Word and Line of Duty.
He said: "I'm sure he will do a very good job. I don't think of it as him playing me, he's an actor playing a character, telling a story."
The Hunt for Raoul Moat is being made by World Productions, the company behind Line of Duty, and will be shown on ITV.
Neil helped scriptwriter Kevin Sampson by advising him on the facts of the police investigation, but has no idea how the story will play out on television.
"I have had no say in the dramatisation, I have just assisted with the facts," he added. "I hope it presents a fair reflection of the story but is sensitive to the families involved."
ITV says The Hunt for Raoul Moat does explore the human tragedies behind the dramatic manhunt and focuses on the innocent victims of Moat’s crimes, Christopher Brown, Samantha Stobbart and PC David Rathband.
Scriptwriter, Kevin, said: “The hunt for Raoul Moat gripped me from the start, as it was the first such case to be covered ‘live’ by the new 24-hour news channels in the UK. Even then, it interested me that Moat was being portrayed by some as a ‘legend’ in spite of the brutality of his crimes.
"In 2022, violence against women remains rife and is all too often accompanied by a victim-blaming agenda. I hope this drama will go some way to condemning this narrative.”
And Simon Heath and Jake Lushington, commenting on on behalf of World Productions, added: "Kevin has written a compelling and unflinching account of these shocking events which highlights the human tragedy behind the lurid headlines. The drama is a timely reminder of how social media and fake news can create a dangerous myth, in this case that Raoul Moat was any kind of hero.”
