{"id":12411,"date":"2022-03-18T10:30:11","date_gmt":"2022-03-18T09:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1606990"},"modified":"2022-03-18T10:44:11","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T09:44:11","slug":"top-boy-star-says-episode-1-twist-is-driving-force-of-the-season","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/top-boy-star-says-episode-1-twist-is-driving-force-of-the-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Boy star says episode 1 twist is \u2018driving force\u2019 of the season"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Morgan Jeffery\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 18 March 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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*Warning: This article contains spoilers for episode 1 of Top Boy on Netflix*<\/strong><\/p>\n

Top Boy rarely pulls any punches, but the twist which closes the show\u2019s latest season opener was particularly brutal.<\/p>\n

The previous season of the Netflix<\/a> crime drama had charted the relationship between students Stefan (Araloyin Oshunremi) and Ats (Keiyon Cook) and explored how the criminality surrounding the young pair impacted their friendship.<\/p>\n

When Ats found himself recruited by the gang led by Dushane Hill (Ashley Walters), it put him in opposition to his friend Stefan, who is brother to Dushane\u2019s rival Jamie (Micheal Ward).<\/p>\n

Ats betrayed Stefan by planting a bag of guns in the flat he shared with Jamie, which led to Jamie being jailed \u2013 all part of Dushane\u2019s master plan. (You can dig more into the show\u2019s backstory with our Top Boy recap<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Top Boy<\/a> has now returned to Netflix with eight new episodes, the first of which revealed what happened to Ats next\u2026 (Spoilers follow!)<\/p>

Early in the first episode, it is established that Ats is missing, with his mother Amma (Jolade Obasola) and Dushane\u2019s dealer Jaq (Jasmine Jobson) both seen voicing their concern for the missing teen.<\/p>\n

His whereabouts remain a mystery until the premiere\u2019s closing scenes, which sees a team of refuse collectors discover Ats\u2019 body dumped in a skip, his clothes covered in blood.<\/p>\n

Speaking to press including RadioTimes.com<\/a>, Top Boy star and executive producer Ashley Walters explained that the circumstances surround Ats\u2019 off-screen death will be \u201cone of the driving forces\u201d of the new season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess you could call it a kind of a spine that a lot of other storylines grow off the back of, especially one huge one at the end comes off the back of what happens in the beginning,\u201d said Walters.<\/p>\n

\""Jaq\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Jaq and Ats in Top Boy<\/span><\/figcaption> Netflix<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Walters added that while it was \u201ca shame\u201d to lose the character of Ats, \u201cthere was not much that we could do about it, so we honoured that journey in the best way we could.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though fans will be displayed by Ats\u2019 fate,\u00a0Walters explained that exploring how the events of Top Boy impact the show\u2019s youngest characters has always been a core tenet of the series.<\/p>\n

\u201cA community is affected by things that happen within that community \u2013 not just the specific people that are enduring it or experiencing it at that time. It has a ripple effect throughout our communities and it\u2019s really good to see the other side of this. Yes, you do have the dealers at the top of their game making the money, but how does that affect the people underneath them, the younger people around them? It\u2019s mirroring exactly what is going on in our communities right now, throughout London and around the world, and it\u2019s important that we make that point.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not all glitz and glamour, there are people that are damaged by this, there are people who have their lives ruined by this sort of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\""Stefan\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Stefan in Top Boy Season 4<\/span><\/figcaption> Ana Blumenkron\/Netflix<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Walters cited the character of Aaron (Hope Ikpoku Jr), Jamie and Stefan\u2019s studious brother, as an example of how the show highlights other avenues for young people beyond crime.<\/p>\n

\u201c[That\u2019s] our way of showing you don\u2019t have to take this route \u2013 there are other options, even though it may seem like it\u2019s the only thing to do growing up in that sort of environment. Look at Aaron \u2013 all he ever talks about is uni and working\u2026 that\u2019s us trying to make the point that in that gangster-dominated environment, he still has the motivation to try and get out in another way and take another route, and that can be you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following Ats\u2019 death, Jasmine Jobson \u00a0\u2013 who earned a BAFTA nomination for her performance in the 2019 episodes of Top Boy \u2013 hinted at a \u201cmassive emotional journey\u201d for her character Jaq.<\/p>\n

\u201cI pride myself on being a method actor, I wear my heart on my sleeve when it comes to my work, so I really had to channel some really dark emotions that I haven\u2019t actually felt or experienced in a long time, which then made me realise that there are some issues that I haven\u2019t actually dealt with,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found there were days where I would need five minutes to myself, where I would just sit in a corner and cry and just figure out what emotion is she feeling at this point and what\u2019s driven her there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more about Top Boy:<\/strong><\/p>\n