TEENAGE TRAUMA

A 13-year-old is arrested for murder in Stephen Graham's knife-crime drama

- IAN MACEWAN

An increasing number of shocking newspaper headlines reflect the alarming rise in UK knife crime that has blighted the lives of families up and down the country. Now Netflix’s timely new drama Adolescence aims to shed more light on this epidemic as it follows the experiences of 13-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper) and his shocked parents when the teenager is arrested on suspicion of murdering a classmate.

The idea for the four-part drama came from Line of Duty star Stephen Graham, who co-wrote the script with award-winning writer Jack Thorne, and plays Jamie’s traumatised father Eddie.

'We've seen an epidemic of knife crime among young lads, and certain instances that really stick out where young boys were killing young girls, explains Graham, 51. 'It really hit me hard and I thought: "Why is this happening?""

While juvenile crime is often linked with gang culture and challenging home environments, Graham says he was keen to depict a typical family at the heart of this tragedy.