ITV true crime drama ‘The Hunt for Raoul Moat’ confirms release date

It’s been announced when The Hunt for Raoul Moat begins on ITV1.

From the writer of last year’s acclaimed Hillsborough drama Anne, the new true crime drama shines a light on the human tragedies that lay behind Britain’s biggest manhunt in 2010.

Inspector George Gently star Lee Ingleby is leading the cast as the police officer leading the race against time to apprehend Raoul Moat after the fugitive’s two-day shooting spree.

Told through the eyes of those who sought to bring a violent killer to justice, The Hunt for Raoul Moat comes from the executive producers of Line of Duty and The Bletchley Circle.

“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,” recalls writer Kevin Sampson.

“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.”

Watch the trailer here:

The official synopsis tell us that the three-part mini-series “focuses on the innocent victims of Moat’s crimes – Christopher Brown, Samantha Stobbart and PC David Rathband; the police officers who put themselves in the firing line in their quest to apprehend Moat; and the local journalist who sought to tell Moat’s real story in a landscape of sensationalist reporting and social media provocation.”

Alongside Lee Ingleby as senior Northumbria Police Officer Neil Adamson, the cast also includes Sonya Cassidy (The Last Kingdom) as local journalist Diane Barnwell, Vineeta Rishi (Vera) as Nisha Roberts, Sally Messham (Doc Martin) as Samantha Stobbart, Matt Stokoe (Jamestown) as Raoul Moat, and Josef Davis (Young Wallander) as Christopher Brown.

When’s the release date?

The Hunt For Raoul Moat will premiere in the UK over three consecutive days at 9pm each night on ITV1 from Sunday 16th April.

The second part will air on Monday 17th April, with the finale airing on Tuesday 18th April.

All three episodes will also be streaming on ITVX.

A broadcaster in the US hasn’t yet been confirmed, but we expect the series to end up on BritBox in the coming months.

The final episode of The Hunt For Raoul Moat will be followed the next day with a one-off factual documentary exploring the real life story.

Manhunt: The Raoul Moat Story airs at 9pm on Tuesday 18th April on ITV1.

Executive producers Simon Heath and Jake Lushington previously commented: “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.”

The complete Line of Duty box set is available on DVD on Amazon.