Skip to main contentSkip to footer
Lee Ingleby as Neil Adams, Vineeta RISHI as Nisha Roberts and Sonya CASSIDY as Diane Barnwell on the show's official poster© ITV

The Hunt for Raoul Moat – meet the cast of ITV's true crime drama

The three-part series is based on the true story of Britain's biggest manhunt

Megan Bull
TV Writer
April 16, 2023
Share this:

The Hunt for Raoul Moat will premiere on ITV1 on Sunday 16 April. Based on the true story of Britain's biggest manhunt, the three-part series follows the innocent victims of Moat's crimes, as well as the police officers who worked to apprehend him. Written by acclaimed novelist and screenwriter, Kevin Sampson, the true crime drama also stars Lee Ingleby, Sonya Cassidy and Matt Stokoe. Keep reading to meet the full cast…

WATCH: The Hunt for Raoul Moat trailer

Lee Ingleby

Lee Ingleby is taking on the role of Neil Adamson, the senior Northumbria Police Officer who was in charge of apprehending Moat. 

MORE: ITV cancels beloved drama after one season: 'We had a lot more to say'

READ: Why Didn't They Ask Evans? viewers saying the same thing about final episode

Lee Ingleby as Neil Adams.© ITV
Lee Ingleby plays senior Northumbria Police Officer Neil Adamson

Best known for portraying Detective Sergeant/Detective Inspector John Bacchus in the BBC drama Inspector George Gently, he also appeared as Stan Shunpike – the conductor of the Knight Bus – in Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban. 

Most recently, the 47-year-old played the role of Jason in the BBC series, Crossfire. 

Sonya Cassidy 

Sonya Cassidy stars as Diane Barnwell, a crime reporter at the Newcastle Chronicle newspaper. While the character has been created for the series, she is based on the Chronicle reporters and other journalists who worked to cover the manhunt in 2010. 

Sonya Cassidy as journalist Diane Barnwell© Justin Slee
Sonya Cassidy portrays journalist Diane Barnwell

An established television actress, Sonya has appeared in a number of hit shows, including The Paradise, Vera, Humans and The Last Kingdom. 

Matt Stokoe

Matt Stokoe portrays the titular Raoul Moat – a former bodybuilder and ex-prisoner who went on a two-day shooting spree in July 2010. 

Matt Stokoe as Raoul Moat © ITV
Matt Stokoe takes on the role of Raoul Moat

Speaking about his role in the series, Matt explained: "It's always difficult to play a real-life character and one that society agrees is evil. When it comes to someone like Moat you don't want your decision to embody that character to in any way be viewed as an endorsement of his behaviour. You have to have empathy as an actor but you don't want to be seen as sympathetic to him."

Matt previously played Alex in the Channel 4 series Misfits, and he's also starred in Jamestown, Bodyguard and Cursed. 

Vineeta Rishi 

"My character is based on two or three different police officers," Vineeta Rishi said. The actress – who is best known for playing Jas Khella in Doctors – is portraying Nisha Roberts in the true crime drama. 

Vineeta Rishi as Nisha Roberts.© ITV
Vineeta Rishi's character Nisha Roberts is based on two or three different police officers

She has also appeared in The Last Detective, Collateral and Holby City. 

Sally Messham 

Sally Messham has featured in Aftersun, Allied, and Artemis Fowl. In The Hunt for Raoul Moat, the actress portrays Samantha Stobbart – one of Moat's surviving victims and his ex-girlfriend. 

Sally Messham as Samantha Stobbart© ITV
Sally Messham stars as Samantha Stobbart – one of Moat's surviving victims and his ex-girlfriend

Speaking about the role, Sally said: "I hope I did justice to highlighting Samantha as more than the tabloid pictures that were seen at the time. She was not just a victim."

Don't want to miss a story? Sign up to our What to Watch newsletter and get the heads-up on the shows and films everyone’s talking about.

Sign up to Off Camera for all the gossip and goings-on from the wonderful world of TV and film

By entering your details, you are agreeing to HELLO! Magazine User Data Protection Policy. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, please click here.

More TV and Film

See more