After weeks of the preview adverts airing on primetime TV, ITV's The Hunt for Raoul Moat began on Sunday night, with millions tuning into what looks like being one of the most talked about dramas of this year.
The true crime mini series will revisit the events of summer 2010 when Moat, having just been released from prison, headed to Birtley and shot dead Christopher Brown, the new boyfriend of ex Samantha Stobbart, with Samantha hospitalised after also being shot by Moat.
As he headed out of Newcastle, Moat then fired at and blinded PC David Rathband, as he sat in a patrol car on the outskirts of the city, before the killer, aided by two accomplices, escaped to Northumberland, where he evaded detection for a number of days, before being involved in a tense final stand-off with police, which ended when he shot himself in the head, dying from his injuries.
READ MORE: Why Paul Gascoigne has been 'cut' from ITV Raoul Moat drama
ITV confirmed The Hunt for Raoul Moat last year, with most of the filming taking place in Yorkshire, other than a few shots of Newcastle's famous Quayside.
How many episodes of The Hunt for Raoul Moat are there on ITV?
There are THREE episodes of The Hunt for Raoul Moat on ITV, with them airing over consecutive nights - April 16, 17 and 18 at 9pm.
Following the first episode ending on Sunday night, all three were made available to binge on ITVX, with the drama being followed on Wednesday night by the Manhunt documentary on Moat.
A teaser for episode one of The Hunt for Raoul Moat reads: "Samantha Stobbart strikes up a new romance with Christopher Brown, but is increasingly nervous about her abusive ex-partner Raoul Moat, who is about to be released from prison. Possessive and pathologically jealous, Moat becomes incensed when he learns about her new partner and commits a brutal and violent crime upon his release from jail. On the run, Moat has no intention of going quietly and sets his sights on attacking the police force now hunting him."
Moving onto episode three, a preview teases: "After his attack on PC David Rathband has devastating consequences, Moat continues to evade capture and doubles down on his threats against the police in a letter. Senior officers grapple to manage the manhunt amid reports that Moat's release from HMP Durham was mishandled, while a police raid on a tent near Rothbury marks progress, but leaves officers frustrated."
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