When Raoul Mott was cornered by police in 2010, some hailed him as the modern-day Robin Hood, but with a new TV drama set out to prove it, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
In July 2010, violent criminal Raoul Mott, 37, was released from Durham Prison after serving a four-month sentence for assault. Two days later he shot his ex-girlfriend and her new partner with a shotgun. Christopher Brown was killed. Samantha Stobart, with whom she had a daughter Moat, was seriously injured. Just hours later, Moat shot PC David Rathband in the face. Rathband survived but was blinded.
Trench went on the run, and after a huge week-long chase, was spotted in the Northumberland town of Rothbury. A six-hour standoff with armed police ensued before the former nightclub bouncer shot himself.
One of the most unusual things about this whole terrible story was the fact that some people took to social media to express their admiration for Moat, viewing him as a kind of anti-tyranny icon, executing harsh justice for those who had wronged him. The “RIP Raoul Moat You Legend” Facebook page attracted 30,000 subscribers before it was eventually taken down.
This three-part dramatization of those events opens with a scene depicting Moat’s prankster mobs laying flowers at the site of his death on the one-year anniversary. “We are here because Raoul Mott is a hero to us,” says one, who traveled all the way from Surrey.
But then we go back to the events leading up to Moat’s release from prison and the events that follow. This is a well-made, engaging drama that shows that Moat was definitely not a hero. While being careful not to offer any reason to complain that it’s a glorification of crime, it’s definitely a series viewers will be talking about.
Violent criminal Raoul Maat, 37, has been released from Durham Prison after serving a four-month sentence for assault
The Hunt for Raoul Moat is broadcast on ITV1 from Sunday to Tuesday at 9pm
There are good performances from Sonya Cassidy and Lee Ingleby (above with Cassidy and Vineeta Rishi). Sally Mesham (Inside), played by Samantha Stobart, thumbs up. It’s pretty clear how terrified she is of the abusive and bossy Trench (Matt Stokoe, above left). The scene where she summons up the courage to visit him in prison to tell him to stay away from her is tough to watch.
But the question is why do we watch it at all? Is this a suitable theme for a prime time drama? The writer, Kevin Sampson, said he spoke directly to the Brown family and they want him to be remembered.
In turn, the Stobart family members oppose the project. One of her sisters, Kelly, told a newspaper, “My whole family and I feel it should be left in the past.” And we don’t know Rathband’s thoughts because, tragically, he took his own life in 2012.
