ITV viewers have been 'blindsided' by the appearance of Dale Meeks in The Hunt for Raoul Moat, in a very different role to the one the actor was famous for in Emmerdale.
After weeks of teaser adverts airing all over ITV and plenty of controversy about the show, the three part drama made its debut on Sunday night, with its first episode set to attract plenty of attention.
The Hunt for Raoul Moat cast is led by Matt Stokoe in the role of killer Moat, who shot dead his ex Samantha Stobbart's new boyfriend Christopher Brown, just days after being released from prison. He also shot and injured Samantha, before shooting and blinding police officer, PC David Rathband, as he sat in a patrol car on a roundabout on the outskirts of Newcastle.
From there, aided by two accomplices, Moat headed up to Northumberland, with him setting up camp in Rothbury and escaping detection for days before, a week on from the murder of Christopher, the killer was involved in a final stand off police, which came to an end when he shot himself.
READ MORE: Why Paul Gascoigne has been 'cut' from ITV Raoul Moat drama
The events of 2010 are being thrust back into the primetime spotlight by The Hunt for Raoul Moat, with its cast also including Lee Ingelby as DCI Neil Adamson and ex Vera star Sonya Cassidy as local journalist Diane Barnwell.
And someone else appearing on screen in the three part series is Dale, who started his career in Byker Grove, before going onto be a very recognisable face to soap fans as Simon Meredith.
He plays Moat's friend Rory Sutcliffe in the drama, who tells DCI Adamson that Moat is 'after' the police, in a frank exchange with the clop in the early stages of the police search for the gunman, saying: "He said you coppers done him in. He's coming for you...coppers."
Dale shared a post about him being in The Hunt for Raoul Moat on his Twitter earlier this week. The post read: 'The Hunt For Roaul Moat hits @ITVX on the 16th April with @dalemeeks as Andy McAllister
The new ITV Drama will tell the story of one of the North Easts most infamous criminal cases!'
One of Dale's former Byker Grove co-stars reacted to his appearance, taking to Twitter to write: "Good old Dale Meeks turning up. Once had a fire extinguisher fight with him on Byker Grove"
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