The three-part true crime series steered clear of the real-life locations.
The Hunt for Raoul Moat, which is stripped across three nights on ITV1, explores the devastating impact of one man’s wrath after his girlfriend walked away from their relationship following years of abuse.
While Raoul Moat was serving time in prison for assaulting a family member, Samantha Stobbart met karate instructor Chris Brown and didn’t look back. But just a few weeks into their relationship, Moat was released from prison and unleashed the full force of his rage on the couple. Samantha was shot twice, but miraculously survived. Chris, however, died of his injuries.
Moat then went on the run, during which time he shot and blinded a police officer. He was eventually tracked down by the authorities and after a tense stand-off lasting more than six hours, he killed himself.
Moat’s initial attack took place outside a house in Birtley, a town in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. The manhunt was carried out across Newcastle before ending in the village of Rothbury in Northumberland, where he killed himself.
But the drama was largely filmed in other parts of the country.
The Hunt for Raoul Moat filming locations
“Aside from establishing shots of Newcastle city centre, we filmed in Yorkshire,” said executive producer Jake Lushington. “The housing estate that doubles for Birtley was just outside Bradford.
“Our director Gareth [Bryn] had extensively recced every real location but we did not want to film in or near the real locations. That included not filming in Rothbury.”
Vineeta Rishi, who plays Detective Inspector Nisha Roberts, “filmed one scene driving over the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle” but spent the rest of her time “around Bradford and other parts of Yorkshire, nowhere near the real locations in the North East”.
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Matt Stokoe, who portrays Moat, added: “I filmed all of my scenes in Yorkshire, including the riverside standoff with the police which happened for real in Rothbury, [which] took place over six hours but we filmed there for a week.
“As an actor it just becomes an exercise in endurance. Sometimes with these big dramatic sequences, your adrenaline can betray you and you can get carried away and lose sight of what it is you’re trying to achieve.
“But when you break it down like that and take a six-hour sequence and spread it out over a week of filming, you can section it off into little compartments and attack each part and judge it right.
“Mainly I just remember that week being very cold and dark.”
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Lee Ingleby, who plays Detective Chief Superintendent Neil Adamson, also detailed what it was like filming that scene.
“When you’re standing there you realise you are not actually that far from him [Moat],” he said. “Even though you are surrounded by firearms officers and you have a bulletproof vest on, I thought, ‘I couldn’t have done that.’
“And then we see the police negotiator who has to carefully choose their words. Of course they are trained… but it must also be terrifying at the same time.
“I think Moat wanted the police to shoot and kill him – ‘death by cop’ – but he did not get his wish and ended up shooting himself.”
The Hunt for Raoul Moat begins airing on ITV1 at 9pm on Sunday 16th April. For more news, interviews and features, visit our Drama hub or find something to watch now with our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.
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