Inside The Hunt for Raoul Moat: The true story behind ITV’s grisly new drama about crazed gun killer and his six-hour stand-off with armed police
- Crazed gunman Raoul Moat went on a rampage in Northumberland in July 2010
- He killed one man with a shotgun before shooting his ex and a police officer
- Now ITV is to release a three-part series following the former doorman’s spree
The horrifying rampage of notorious gunman Raoul Moat will be the latest real-life tragedy transformed into a grisly true crime drama for ITV viewers.
A three-part series called The Hunt for Raoul Moat – airing this month – will tell the story of one Britain’s most infamous manhunts, in which the shotgun-wielding brute killed his ex-girlfriend’s lover before shooting her and a police officer.
His attacks triggered a £1.4million manhunt, involving 160 armed officers – with the town of Rothbury in Northumberland placed on lockdown.
Moat launched his terrifying campaign of violence on July 3, 2010, and vowed to kill as many police officers as possible.
But he was cornered days later and killed himself during a six-hour stand-off with police – which saw England football legend Paul Gascoigne making a bizarre appearance to try and save the killer.
The series follows ITV dramatizing two other notorious manhunts in recent history – the search for the brutal killer of French student Amélie Delagrange in 2004, which led to the eventual arrest and conviction of Levi Bellfield, and the operation to catch the infamous ‘Night Stalker’, serial rapist Delroy Grant.
Now, ahead of ITV’s The Hunt For Raoul Moat hitting the small screen, MailOnline is recapping the nightmare in Northumberland – and telling the story of those caught up in the deadly drama.
Raoul Moat – played by Misfits star Matt Stokoe
Killer Raoul Moat (pictured left) went on a shooting spree in 2010. He gunned down his girlfriend, murdered her boyfriend and shot a police officer in the face. His reign of terror is set to be dramatised in ITV’s Hunt For Raoul Moat. Actor Matt Stokoe, right, is playing the part of Moat
Moat then went on to declare ‘war’ on the police, shooting and blinding an unarmed traffic officer PC David Rathband – who later took his own life following his injuries
It was the extraordinary manhunt that ended with crazed gunman Raoul Moat shooting himself in the head after a tense six-hour stand-off with armed police.
The 37-year-old killer had been on the run for a week after gunning down his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart, 22, and killing her new partner Chris Brown, 29.
Moat then went on to declare ‘war’ on the police, shooting and blinding an unarmed traffic officer PC David Rathband – who later took his own life following his injuries.
Father-of-three Moat’s reign of terror began in the early hours of July 3, 2010. He had just been released from Durham Prison two days earlier when he arrived at the house of his ex-lover, Ms Stobbart.
The 6ft 3ins body-building brute had split up with Ms Stobbart while he was serving his 18-week prison sentence for assaulting a nine-year-old relative.
Known to have a bad temper, the former bouncer and tree surgeon, ambushed his ex-lover, who he had a child with, as she left from a friends’ home.
Matt Stokoe, best known for his roles as Alex in Misfits on Channel 4 and Luke Aikens in ITV thriller Bodyguard, will be staring as the crazed killer for ITV’s Hunt For Raoul Moat, which is released later this month. Stokoe is pictured as Moat
At work: Moat doing his job as a tree surgeon. He once ran a gardening business before he was jailed for assault – and then when on his shotgun rampage
The 37-year-old killer had been on the run for a week after gunning down his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart, 22, and killing her new partner Chris Brown, 29
At the time of their split, Ms Stobbart claimed she had entered into an affair with a police officer in an attempt to keep him away.
But this fuelled his rage and hatred for the law, leading to Moat blaming the police for his life falling apart.
In reality, Ms Stobbart had started a new relationship with a karate instructor named Chris Brown. when Moat ambushed the in Birtley, Gateshead, armed with a sawn-off shotgun.
The killer claimed he heard the pair mocking him as they walked home from the house of neighbours Jackie and Karl Wilkinson after a night out.
He had been waiting for an hour for his moment to strike, texting his accomplice Karl Ness who was parked up nearby.
When Mr Brown confronted Moat, the spurned bouncer blasted him with a shotgun, shooting him in the chest and neck before firing once more at the karate instructor’s face from close range, killing him.
Vindictive Moat then shot his ex-girlfriend in the stomach through a window before fleeing the scene. She was horrifically wounded but survived the attack.
His accomplice Ness fled the scene leaving Moat stranded. The following day, the crazed gunman called police to warn them he was about to attack target their officer.
Chris Brown deliberately stepped in front of Raoul Moat to protect his girlfriend from the killer, she said at an inquest. Pictured is Josef Davies as Mr Brown and Sally Messham as Ms Stobbart
Family album: Moat as a happy three- and 13-year-old in pictures released by his family before he turned to murder as an adult
Police officers negotiate with fugitive Raoul Moat shortly before his death. It was an extraordinary manhunt that ended with the crazed gunman shooting himself in the head after a tense six-hour stand-off with armed police.
Police forensic staff at the scene of the suicide of Raoul Moat in the centre of Rothbury, Northumbria
In a senseless attack, he gunned down PC David Rathband as he sat in his patrol car on a roundabout in East Denton. The officer was blinded by the attack.
The burly killer claimed he would target any police officer in his wake, but PC Rathband had previously crossed paths with him when he seized Moat’s van.
Now on the run, Moat attempted to evade the authorities, but was spotted in Seaton Delaval as part of an armed robbery before he made his way to Rothbury.
Armed vehicles, helicopters, dogs, a Royal Air Force aircraft and some 160 armed officers were unleashed to find and stop the shotgun-wielding killer.
Moat took refuge with a pair of accomplices in Rothbury, Northumberland, but his actions triggered one of the nation’s most notorious manhunts.
The thug was eventually cornered by armed police before a six-hour stand-off began – during which footballer Paul Gascoigne famously turned up at the site of the police stand-off with a fishing rod and chicken dinner to try and talk ‘Moaty’ round.
As negotiators attempted to get Moat to put down his weapon, the crazed killer shot himself in the head at 1.10am on July 10. Moments before, he had been tasered by officers, who had attempted to stop him from taking his own life.
He was taken by ambulance to Newcastle General Hospital and was seen being taken from the ambulance on a stretcher with a blanket covering his head. He was pronounced dead on arrival.
Samantha Stobbart played by Doc Martin star Sally Messham
Ms Stobbart (Sally Meesham, left) had started a new relationship with a karate instructor named Chris Brown (Josef Davies, right). when Moat ambushed the in Birtley, Gateshead, armed with a sawn-off shotgun
Samantha Stobbart, pictured left, was gunned down by her ex-boyfriend in a horrifying attack which claimed the life of her lover Chris Brown. Actress Sally Messham (right) is portraying the 22-year-old trainee hairdresser in the new ITV drama. She is pictured in a publicity shot for The Hunt For Raoul Moat
Samantha Stobbart had spent six years with Moat before he tried to murder her with a shotgun.
She reportedly met Moat when she was 16. At the time of Moat’s shooting spree, they had a four-year-old girl, Chanel, together.
Ms Stobbart, then a 22-year-old trainee hairdresser, had started dating karate instructor Chris Brown while Moat was jailed.
In an interview with the Daily Star in 2011, her sister Claire Burdis said Samantha was ‘terrified of Raoul’ and wanted him to stay away from her.
The ‘vengeful’ killer had become obsessed by the fact she was in a new relationship.
On July 3, just days after being released from jail, Moat shot her through the window of a friend’s house moments after ‘calmly’ executing her boyfriend with a double-barrelled sawn-off shotgun.
Describing the horror in court in 2011, Ms Stobbart said: ‘It all happened so quickly.
Samantha Stobbart (pictured) was left critically injured after she was shot in the stomach by Moat and only survived because her arm had partially blocked the shot
Ms Stobbart had broken off her relationship with Moat while he was in prison. She started to date karate instructor Chris Brown – who was gunned down and killed on July 3, 2010, by Moat. Sally Messham is pictured portraying Ms Stobbart
‘Chris walked in front of me. Raoul then shot him. Chris went down on to the grass. Raoul was shouting. He then went to point the gun at my legs.
‘I ran back to the house. I couldn’t see anybody. I was panicking because my daughter was upstairs. I couldn’t find the keys (to lock the door).
‘Jackie was hiding in the kitchen, Karl was hiding in the bathroom and my mum was upstairs.
‘She had the children and was getting them in the loft. I looked out of the window and it was done.
‘I just remember Chris slouch down on to his knees and then from what I remember I got shot.
Samantha Stobbart, pictured in March 2011, told a court of the horrifying moment Moat blasted her boyfriend before turning his shotgun on her and shooting her
‘I didn’t fall to the ground straight away. It took 20 seconds and then I just collapsed. I remember blood pumping out of my arm and my chest.’
The shotgun cartridge penetrated her left arm and entered her abdomen. Samantha was rushed to the nearby Queen Elizabeth hospital in Gateshead, where she was left fighting for her life.
On July 5, 2010, she was declared to no longer be in a critical condition following the attack, and left hospital on July 17.
On the same day, she issued a direct appeal to Moat, who was in hiding having gone on the run. She said: ‘Please give yourself up. If you still loved me and our baby you would not be doing this.’
Later that year, she told The News of the World how there had been ‘nothing’ she could do ‘against a madman with a gun’.
Chris Brown played by 1917 and Star Wars actor Josef Davis
Chris Brown (left) heroically stood in the way of Raoul Moat to protect his girlfriend from the killer. Mr Brown was gunned down and killed on July 3, 2010. Actor Josef Davis (right), who stared 2019 Oscar-winner 1917 and more recently in the critically-acclaimed Star Wars mini series Andor on Disney+, is portraying Mr Brown. He is pictured in The Hunt For Raoul Moat
Karate instructor Chris Brown was murdered by Raoul Moat in the early hours of July 3.
The 29-year-old had been in a relationship with Moat’s ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart – who had lied to her former lover, telling him she was dating a police officer.
Mr Brown had moved from Windsor, Berkshire, to Tyneside six months before being gunned down and was living in a flat in Gateshead when he met Samantha while promoting his martial arts classes.
On the night of his murder, the heroic martial artist confronted gunman Moat as Ms Stobbart cowered in the home of friends Jackie and Karl Wilkinson.
Moat (pictured) – released from prison just 36 hours earlier – had been crouching below the living room window of the Wilkinsons’ home listening to his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend
The beginning of the stand-off. Moat was finally caught by police on the evening of July 9, after a member of the public spotted him at the bottom of their road in Rothbury
Former doorman Moat (Matt Stokoe), 37, shot the karate instructor in the neck and chest before putting a third shot in his head at close range, Newcastle Crown Court heard in 2011
Mr Brown’s family have blamed police officers for not warning Mr Brown that his life could be in danger following Moat’s release from prison
Moat – released from prison just 36 hours earlier – had been crouching below the living room window of the Wilkinsons’ home listening to his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend.
When Ms Stobbart and Mr Brown left shortly after 2.30am he ‘jumped up’, a court was told.
Ms Stobbart said at an inquest that Brown had deliberately stepped in front of Moat to protect her as she ran back inside the Wilkinsons’ home.
Former doorman Moat, 37, shot the karate instructor in the neck and chest before putting a third shot in his head at close range, Newcastle Crown Court heard in 2011.
Hundreds of mourners gathered on August 6, 2010, to mark Mr Brown’s funeral at Slough Crematorium, Berkshire
Mr Brown’s family criticised Ms Stobbart for lying about her new boyfriend being a police officer, knowing Moat hated police.
They have also blamed police officers for not warning Mr Brown that his life could be in danger following Moat’s release from prison.
Paul Gascoigne: the World Cup hero whose cameo has been ignored
Among the carnage of Raoul Moat’s rampage was a surreal chapter involving World Cup legend Paul Gascoigne.
Wearing a dressing gown, Gazza arrived unannounced at the police cordon as armed officers surrounded Moat.
The England midfield icon, 54, had been on a cocaine bender and had convinced himself the burly killer was his ‘brother’.
In a bizarre twist to the Northumberland manhunt, Gascoigne arrived at the police cordon holding a loaf of tiger bread, lager, chicken and a fishing rod.
Gazza’s arrival at the police stand-off holding a loaf of tiger bread, lager, chicken and a fishing rod after convincing himself Moat was his ‘brother’ during a cocaine bender was a bizarre twist in the July 2010 Northumberland manhunt
Although no actor will play Gascoigne, his shock appearance will be mentioned on screen in the drama, penned by screenwriter Kevin Sampson, who recently wrote ‘Anne’, the story of Hillsborough campaigner Anne Williams.
A source said: ‘We don’t have an actor playing Paul Gascoigne, but that aspect of the story is factually reported in the script.’
Gascoigne later explained he had been drinking and snorted 14 lines of cocaine and, hearing about the horrific rampage on the news, decided to try to help Moat – after convincing himself the murderer was his brother.
He said in his 2015 Evening with Paul Gascoigne talk: ‘You’ve got to realise I’m half cut, sitting in the living room, I’ve got about six lines [of cocaine] lined up.
‘I’m not realising much but a good line and me and Raoul Moat are sort of friends. A couple more lines and we are good buddies. A few whiskies, another few lines and we went to school together.
New ITV show The Hunt For Raoul Moat, is currently being filmed with actor Matt Stokoe, 33, as the burly killer
‘He was in Rothbury, that’s where I used to go fishing so I know the area quite well. Another line and I have a couple of fishing rods and a chicken. He’s going to need a drink. I’ve had 14 lines now and he’s my brother.’
Gascoigne rang for a taxi and told the driver to take him to Newcastle airport, adding: ‘Then I said ”head for Rothbury”.
‘The taxi driver said ”you are not going where I think you are going?” And I said ”yes I am”. I was telling the taxi driver I could save him. I told him: ‘Listen, I have been through so much, I am the best therapist in the world, I can save him”. I genuinely believed that.’
Gazza brandished a box of chicken and a loaf of tiger bread as he made his arrival at the tense scene and asked stunned police: ‘Where’s Moaty?’
The former Euro 96 ace was not allowed entry and told to go home, bemoaning the fact his chicken was ‘getting cold’.
Speaking of the move to omit the football ace’s surreal appearance from the ITV drama, executive producer Kevin Sampson said: ‘Everybody that I reached out to who was not intimately involved, the first thing they would say is ‘oh the one where Gaz turned up with a fishing rod’.
‘That absolutely undermines and trivialises the tragedy of what really happened and if there is one mission statement, it really is to challenge people to think again and revaluate the way they look back on these events.’
Neil Adamson played by Line of Duty and Harry Potter star Lee Ingleby
Detective Superintendent Neil Adamson (pictured left in 2010) led the manhunt for Raoul Moat. He will be played by Line of Duty star Lee Ingleby, 47. Ingleby is pictured right in character on ITV’s The Hunt For Raoul Moat
Neil Adamson was the head of Northumbria Police CID when Moat gunned down Chris Brown and Samantha Stobbart (Lee Ingleby, right)
He was the Detective Superintendent who led one of the biggest manhunts in British history.
Neil Adamson was the head of Northumbria Police CID when Moat gunned down Chris Brown and Samantha Stobbart.
Then, the following day, the crazed former doorman ambushed PC David Rathband in his patrol car, shooting him in the face twice and blinding him.
Moat was still at large when he called police and threatened: ‘I’ve just downed one of your officers. I’m not going to stop.’
Speaking on the 10th anniversary of Moat’s shooting spree, Neil said the manhunt that followed was ‘like being hit with a tsunami’.
‘The operation’s scale was huge,’ Neil told the Daily Mirror. ‘Then Home Secretary Theresa May wanted updates. People underestimated the vast search area.
‘I’m sure some thought ‘he is only hiding in some bushes, why can’t they find him?’ Moat made significant efforts to hide.’
Neil led daily press conferences giving the latest on the search in the early days of 24-hour news, facing tough questions in front of an audience of millions.
Neil Adamson was the head of Northumbria Police CID when Moat gunned down Chris Brown and Samantha Stobbart. Pictured is Line of Duty star Lee Ingleby as Mr Adamson
Manhunt: A firearms officer checking a map as police continued their huge search for Moat after he killed Chris Brown and shot Samantha Stobbart and PC David Rathband
The former officer, who has since retired after 30 years of service, said the hunt was relentless – with the public reporting 700 sightings during that week from Newcastle. Berwick and even Spain.
The father-of-two said the immense pressure of the investigation was ‘really hard’, adding: ‘I had my wife worried about me being on telly with a gunman on the loose. She said: “What if he comes after you?”‘
Moat was finally caught by police on the evening of July 9, after a member of the public spotted him at the bottom of their road in Rothbury.
Moat was corned on a nearby riverbank and spent six hours in a stand off with armed police, telling negotiators he did not want to spend the rest of his life in a cell.
In a bid to stop him killing himself, police shot him with a taser. But it failed to prevent the crazed gunman shooting himself in the head.
Moat’s death, says Neil, had an impact that was ‘felt way beyond that week’ of hell.
‘Chris murdered, Sam shot, PC Rathband shot and blinded and then he also took his own life,’ Neil told the Mirror.
‘The burden of responsibility, the desire to protect the public, to not let anyone down or see anyone else get hurt, led to immense pressures for all involved. It is difficult to imagine a bigger operation of that kind.’
Chief Constable Sue Sim played by Peaky Blinders star Gemma Page
Chief Constable Sue Sim oversaw the police operation to catch Raoul Moat. She is pictured at a press conference following the shooting of PC David Rathband. She will be portrayed by Peaky Blinders star Gemma Page (pictured right)
Chief Constable Sue Sim was the woman in charge of the whole police operation to hunt down killer Raoul Moat.
She dealt directly with the Home Office during Moat rampage, keeping top brass updated.
The chief constable even turned down the offer of having Prime Minister David Cameron come up to the north east amid fears vital police resources would be drained trying to protect him.
Mrs Sim had been in the control room in the early hours of July 3 when the call came in Moat had murdered Chris Brown and gunned down his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart.
He was corned six days later by police in Rothbury.
Speaking of the moment she received the call he had been surrounded, Mrs Sim told Chronicle Live: ‘It was absolute joy. It is a terrible thing to say but it was absolute joy that we had got him. I then went to the command room and stayed there until the end.’
Moat killed himself, putting an end to the manhunt. Mrs Sim said the whole ordeal had been ‘horrendous’ but added: ‘I did not want it to end like this. I wanted him to end up before a court.
‘People say the operation was a huge success but I don’t think it was. The cops did the best they could but it was Moat who determined it would finish his way.’
The Hunt for Raoul Moat starts on ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday, 16 April.
Raoul Moat’s horrific final days before dramatic six-hour stand off
Thursday, July 1: Moat is released from Durham prison after serving 18 weeks for assault
Friday, July 2: Prison staff warn police Moat may want to harm Samantha Stobbart
Saturday, July 3: Moat shoots dead Miss Stobbart’s new boyfriend Chris Brown outside her home in Birtley, Gateshead and also injures her. Manhunt is launched for Moat
Sunday, July 4: Pc David Rathband is shot in his patrol car and critically injured. Moat rings officers claiming Miss Stobbart was having an affair with a police officer
Monday, July 5: Manhunt for Moat continues
Tuesday, July 6: Moat’s car is discovered in Rothbury, Northumberland and police flood the area setting up a two-mile exclusion zone. A letter written by Moat reveals his intentions to declare war on the police
Wednesday, July 7: Officers find a tent where Moat had been sleeping and another letter from him
Thursday, July 8: Police say Moat had made threats to the general public and two men were arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and bailed
Friday, July 9: At 7pm Moat comes out from his hiding place and reporters watch as he lies on the ground with a gun threatening to kill himself. Police try to negotiate with him for six hours
Saturday, July 10: A gunshot is heard at 1.10am and Moat is declared dead after being rushed to hospital. Police said Moat appeared to have killed himself
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