Steve Coogan spent hours talking to the real-life police officer he plays in ITV’s drama Stephen.
The Alan Partridge actor stars in ITV’s true-crime drama as DCI Driscoll, the officer who worked to convict two of Stephen Lawrence’s murderers nearly two decades after he was killed.
It is a follow-up The Murder of Stephen Lawrence, which aired in 1999 six years after the teenager was killed in a racially motivated attack.
In an interview with the Radio Times, the real Driscoll revealed that he spoke to Coogan ahead of his performance in the show.
“I spoke to him on Zoom for two-and-a-half hours. He was incredibly lovely and down to earth,” Driscoll said. “We were going to meet up, but that was impossible due to the lockdown. He is a very talented man.”
He continued: “I thanked him for actually taking the part, being part of the story and keeping Stephen’s story out there. I still think we can all learn from Stephen’s story and we should cherish his memory.”
Set in 2006, Stephen is a three-part drama written by Frank and Joe Cottrell Boyce.
Stephen begins Monday 30 August at 9pm on ITV.
