Viewers of The Hunt for Raoul Moat were perplexed when the new ITV drama began with people celebrating the gunman as a “hero.”
The terrifying new series, which will air in three parts, is inspired by actual events and tells the incredible story of Britain’s largest manhunt, which took place in 2010. Raoul Moat, a former bouncer and bodybuilder, was freed from jail after completing a four-month sentence for assaulting a nine-year-old relative.
He shot murdered karate teacher Christopher Brown, the new lover of his ex-girlfriend Samatha Stobbart, two days after his release, and wounded her in the abdomen and arm after shooting through the front window. He then struck again, this time firing fire on Police Constable Rathband as he sat in a police cruiser.
Constable Rathband was permanently blinded as a result of the incident, and regrettably committed himself two years later after having to cope with his disability.
Moat, 37, went on the run, and the manhunt ended a few weeks later on July 10, after a six-hour standoff with police.
The assailant eventually turned the pistol on himself and was pronounced dead at Newcastle General Hospital.
ITV’s new true crime drama focuses on the innocent victims of Moat’s violent attacks, with Matt Stokoe portraying the criminal, Lee Ingleby portraying senior Northumbria Police Officer Neil Adamson, and Sonya Cassidy portraying local journalist Diane Barnwell.
The first episode started with a scenario one year after Moat died, then flashed back and told the entire event.
Locals were observed leaving flowers and handwritten notes in memory of Moat at the spot where he shot himself. Some reporters even stated that they had travelled to be there on that day.
‘Can I ask where have you travelled from?’, a journalist asked one woman, to which she replied: ‘From Egham, in Surrey.’
When asked what had brought her to Newcastle, she said: ‘We’re here for Raoul Moat.’
‘Respect, man,’ said two young guys.
The lady continued: ‘We’re here because Raoul Moat is a hero to us.’
‘And is that how you see him?’, the reporter quizzed.
‘Nah I do think he’s a hero,’ the woman insisted.
Naturally, viewers at home were astonished by what they were hearing.
‘Baffles me how anyone could view a cold blooded killer as a “hero”.’, one Twitter user wrote.
‘Quite a number of high profile killers throughout history had/have a cult following & are hero worshipped. Scary!’, another wrote.
Remembering the events well, one added: ‘I remember way too many deluded people thinking that somehow Raoul Moat was a “Hero” for evading the police for the time that he did’.
‘How anyone can call Moat a hero should probably speak to the families affected’, another person tweeted.
‘Absolutely ridiculous that there’s people in this world that think Raoul Moat is hero. Sickening’, one viewer blasted.
In fact, most disturbingly, Moat did actually have ‘fans’.
Hundreds of Facebook visitors posted messages of support during the week-long search for the steroid abuser, some of which were read out in the ITV drama.
Groups actually sympathised with him, praising him for ‘getting revenge’ on his ex.
His friends also stood by him.
On the first anniversary of his death, Moat’s friends and family drank a toast at 1.12am on July 10 – the exact time he shot himself following the dramatic armed siege.
And in the lead up to the 10th anniversary of the harrowing events in 2020, which coincided with lockdown restrictions being lifted, residents of the area lived in fear that crowds would flock to their town to mark the grim milestone.
The Hunt for Raoul Moat is available to stream on ITVX.
Source My Celebrity Life.