{"id":3614,"date":"2021-08-26T16:56:55","date_gmt":"2021-08-26T14:56:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1323550"},"modified":"2021-08-26T17:36:10","modified_gmt":"2021-08-26T15:36:10","slug":"the-true-story-behind-itv-drama-stephen","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/the-true-story-behind-itv-drama-stephen\/","title":{"rendered":"The true story behind ITV drama Stephen"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"rssexcerpt\"> The fact-based drama series is the sequel to ITV&#8217;s The Murder of Stephen Lawrence. <\/p><p class=\"rssauthor\">By Flora Carr\n                \t\t<\/p><p class=\"rssbyline\">Published: Thursday, 26 August 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p><hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n\n<p>ITV\u2019s fact-based drama <a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/drama\/stephen-itv-release-date\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">Stephen<\/a>, starring Steve Coogan and Sharlene Whyte, tells the true story of the investigation into the murder of Stephen Lawrence.<\/p>\n<p>The drama tells the story of\u00a0<span data-contrast=\"&quot;none&quot;\">how DCI Clive Driscoll \u2013 working closely with the Lawrences \u2013 puts together an investigation that finally secures the convictions of two of the perpetrators, more than 18 years after Stephen\u2019s murder.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Alan Partridge star <a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/drama\/stephen-steve-coogan-honour-stephen-lawrence-itv-newsupdate\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">Steve Coogan said it was an \u201chonour\u201d to star in ITV drama Stephen<\/a>, in which he plays Driscoll, who\u00a0managed to secure convictions for two of Lawrence\u2019s murderers.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to <a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">RadioTimes.com<\/a> and other press, Coogan said: \u201cIt was an honour to play Clive really, because as an actor I don\u2019t often play nice people\u2026 So it was a nice change for me to play someone who had integrity, simple unannounced integrity, if you like.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The real-life former <a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/drama\/stephen-itv-dci-clive-driscoll-steve-coogan-newsupdate\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">DCI Clive Driscoll has discussed Steve Coogan\u2019s casting in Stephen<\/a>, revealing he thanked the Alan Partridge actor for starring in the ITV drama, and for \u201ckeeping Stephen\u2019s story out there\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Read on for the real-life history behind ITV drama Stephen.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What is the true story behind ITV drama Stephen?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<div class=\"&quot;image-handler__container\" style=\"padding-bottom:\"> <img class=\"&quot;wp-image-825019\" align=\"\" data-src=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2020\/07\/stephen_lawrence-68435b6.jpg?quality=90&amp;resize=620%2C413&quot;\" width=\"&quot;620&quot;\" height=\"&quot;413&quot;\" alt=\"&quot;Stephen\" title=\"&quot;stephen_lawrence&quot;\" \/><\/div><div class=\"&quot;caption-hold&quot;\"><figcaption class=\"&quot;wp-caption-text&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;caption-copy&quot;\"><i class=\"&quot;icon-arrow\" \/> Stephen Lawrence, who was murdered as a teenager, is the subject of ITV drama Stephen<\/span><\/figcaption><span class=\"&quot;im-image-caption&quot;\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Black British teenager Stephen Lawrence was murdered <span data-contrast=\"&quot;none&quot;\">on the evening of 22nd April 1993 in a racially motivated attack.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The attack occurred while Lawrence was<span data-contrast=\"&quot;none&quot;\">\u00a0waiting for a bus in Well Hall Road, Eltham, in South East London. Stephen was out with his friend, Duwayne Brooks; the pair had gone round to Stephen\u2019s uncle\u2019s house after school in order to play video games.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"&quot;page&quot;\" title=\"&quot;Page\">\n<div class=\"&quot;section&quot;\">\n<div class=\"&quot;layoutArea&quot;\">\n<div class=\"&quot;column&quot;\">\n<p>\u201cI was working at Brixton at the time [of the murder]. From what I heard, I genuinely felt it would definitely be solved,\u201d recalled the real-life former DCI Clive Driscoll (played by Steve Coogan in Stephen), who would later take on the case.<\/p>\n<p>Stephen and Duwayne \u201cleft to go home and were waiting for a bus on Well Hall Road in Eltham, south east London. On the other side of the road I believe there were six people. They always talk about five. But I believe there were six,\u201d Driscoll said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"&quot;page&quot;\" title=\"&quot;Page\">\n<div class=\"&quot;section&quot;\">\n<div class=\"&quot;layoutArea&quot;\">\n<div class=\"&quot;column&quot;\">\n<p>\u201cStephen had headphones on and wouldn\u2019t have known what was happening to him. The gang ran over and attacked Stephen, who was apart from his friend Duwayne. The gang engulfed Stephen and he was stabbed twice. An incredibly cowardly attack. They were both totally innocent young men making their way home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He continued, \u201cWhen our later investigation began in 2006 I used to go down to Well Hall Road to read statements. I\u2019m dyslexic so I\u2019m not as clever with words as other people are. For it to come alive for me I have to virtually do it.\u201d<\/p> <\/div>\n<div class=\"&quot;page&quot;\" title=\"&quot;Page\">\n<div class=\"&quot;section&quot;\">\n<div class=\"&quot;layoutArea&quot;\">\n<div class=\"&quot;column&quot;\">\n<h2><strong>How did DCI Clive Driscoll become involved in the Stephen Lawrence investigation?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>In the first episode of Stephen, set in 2006, detective Clive Driscoll (Steve Coogan) is in the process of closing down an old police station, when he stumbles across a room full of evidence related to the Stephen Lawrence murder.<\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"&quot;none&quot;\">Although this seems almost improbable, this is in fact exactly how DCI Clive Driscoll got involved in the case in real life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>He said, \u201cThe Met had sold Deptford police station in 2006 and I was sent there to close it down. It was there I found a room full of papers relating to Operation Fishpool \u2013 the Stephen Lawrence murder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can remember walking around the room thinking, \u2018This can\u2019t be right.\u2019 Then coming straight out of there and phoning Cressida Dick, who was the commander then, to say, \u2018I\u2019ll take that on.\u2019 So the decision was made and I took it on from 20th June 2006.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"&quot;image-handler__container\" style=\"padding-bottom:\"> <img class=\"&quot;wp-image-1321674\" align=\"\" data-src=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/08\/Stephen-Steve-Coogan-eda89ed.jpg?quality=90&amp;resize=620%2C400&quot;\" width=\"&quot;620&quot;\" height=\"&quot;413&quot;\" alt=\"&quot;Stephen&quot;\" title=\"&quot;Stephen-Steve-Coogan&quot;\" \/><\/div><div class=\"&quot;caption-hold&quot;\"><figcaption class=\"&quot;wp-caption-text&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;caption-copy&quot;\"><i class=\"&quot;icon-arrow\" \/> Stephen<\/span><\/figcaption><span class=\"&quot;im-image-caption&quot;\"> <i>ITV<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<p>He continued, \u201cWhat I found was a bit like the Marie Celeste. You knew people had been there but they weren\u2019t there any more. We ended up with an initial 540 boxes of papers at Deptford and then more because we kept finding them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven in 2008, we found loads more stuff. To me it was a new investigation, but the Met described it as a case review.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"&quot;page&quot;\" title=\"&quot;Page\">\n<div class=\"&quot;section&quot;\">\n<div class=\"&quot;layoutArea&quot;\">\n<div class=\"&quot;column&quot;\">\n<div class=\"&quot;page&quot;\" title=\"&quot;Page\">\n<div class=\"&quot;section&quot;\">\n<div class=\"&quot;layoutArea&quot;\">\n<div class=\"&quot;column&quot;\">\n<h2><b>Who was\u00a0convicted for Stephen Lawrence\u2019s murder?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>It took over 18 years after Stephen Lawrence\u2019s death for his killers to be brought to justice, as the <span data-contrast=\"&quot;none&quot;\">original investigation had failed to convict those responsible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Two of the attackers, Gary Dobson and David Norris, were found guilty of murder at The Old Bailey in January 2012.<\/p>\n<p>The drama Stephen begins in 2006 with a turning point in the case, and ahead of the ITV three-part drama, Clive Driscoll recounted the breakthrough for the investigation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"&quot;image-handler__container\" style=\"padding-bottom:\"> <img data-crop-width=\"&quot;1297&quot;\" data-crop-height=\"&quot;864&quot;\" class=\"&quot;wp-image-1250835\" align=\"\" data-src=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/02\/STEPHEN-03-4ec37cc.jpg?quality=90&amp;crop=2px%2C455px%2C1297px%2C864px&amp;resize=620%2C413&quot;\" width=\"&quot;620&quot;\" height=\"&quot;413&quot;\" alt=\"&quot;SHARLENE\" title=\"&quot;SHARLENE\" \/><\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe re-enacted how Stephen could have been attacked and took that video to LGC Forensics in Oxfordshire. We asked them not to treat what happened as a brief attack. They then found fibres linking some of the suspects to Stephen. That gave everybody a fresh impetus,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"&quot;column&quot;\">\n<p>He continued, \u201cThe real breakthrough came in 2008 when they fired some ultraviolet light on clothing. On one fibre from Gary Dobson\u2019s jacket they noticed something. It turned out to be Stephen\u2019s blood and it had to be wet when it hit the jacket. Gary Dobson was found not guilty in 1996, under the Criminal Justice Act \u2013 or double jeopardy \u2013 so it had to be new and compelling evidence. We took our evidence to Keir Starmer, who was the Director of Public Prosecutions at the time, who agreed we had enough new and compelling evidence to take Gary Dobson to court.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stephen will start on Monday 30th August at 9pm on ITV.\u00a0The series consists of three episodes and is a sequel to ITV\u2019s The Murder of Stephen Lawrence.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Visit our <a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/tv-listings\/&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener&quot; noopener noreferrer\">TV Guide<\/a> to see what\u2019s on tonight,\u00a0or check out the rest of our <a href=\"\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/drama&quot;\" target=\"&quot;_blank&quot;\" rel=\"&quot;noopener noopener noreferrer\">Drama<\/a> coverage.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> The fact-based drama series is the sequel to ITV&#8217;s The Murder of Stephen Lawrence. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":3615,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-true-story-behind-itv-drama-stephen.jpg",2369,1578,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-true-story-behind-itv-drama-stephen-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-true-story-behind-itv-drama-stephen-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-true-story-behind-itv-drama-stephen-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-true-story-behind-itv-drama-stephen-1024x682.jpg",800,533,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-true-story-behind-itv-drama-stephen-1536x1023.jpg",1536,1023,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/the-true-story-behind-itv-drama-stephen-2048x1364.jpg",2048,1364,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The fact-based drama series is the sequel to ITV's The Murder of Stephen Lawrence.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/3614"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}