Ashley Walters has attracted rave reviews for his portrayal of the detective leading the dramatic raid and questioning of the schoolboy murder suspect in Netflix phenomenon Adolescence.
But if his character provides Adolescence with its moral authority, this is strikingly at odds with Ashley’s own earlier life experiences: in his youth and young adulthood the actor was, by his own admission, very much a bad boy himself.
Such was the extent of his often chaotic personal life that he spent months in prison in his teens, battled alcoholism and went on to father eight children by three women.
‘I’ve got this whole story behind me which means I bring a bit of edge to the table,’ the British star, 42, has explained previously of the grit his acting seems to have. ‘I’m not naive: things contrived and I capitalised.’
In the talked-about drama Ashely’s character has his own parenting issues – with a complicated and often exasperating relationship with his own sometimes troublesome teenage son. But in his own teens he gave his own mother, civil servant Pam, plenty to worry about.
This was despite early success which repaid the commitment of that mother who started taking her only son from their home in Peckham to part time drama classes at the world renowned Sylvia Young Theatre School in Marylebone when he was just seven.
Teachers at the independent theatre school, whose alumni include the likes of Billie Piper, Rita Ora and Dua Lipa, were quick to spot Ashley’s talent.
By the time he was 13, Ashley, who was also attending his local comprehensive, landed his television debut in the role of Andy Philips on the long-running television BBC series Grange Hill.
Ashley Walters, 42, played drug kingpin Dushane in the hit Netflix drama Top Boy
More recently he starred in Netflix’s Adolescence as policeman DI Luke Bascombe earning rave reviews
In the talked-about drama Walters’ character has his own parenting issues. But in his own teens he gave his own mother, civil servant Pam (pictured right), plenty to worry about
During his early teens, he went on to star in the BBC film Storm Damage and portray Stephen Lawrence’s brother in the 2000 docudrama The Stephen Lawrence Story – all while gaining 10 GCSES.
By the time he was 18, his career took a turn and he became a rapper, starring in the Battersea-based hip hop group So Solid Crew performing under the name ‘Asher D’.
Following the group’s number one hit single – 21 Seconds – Ashley decided to step back from music to return to his first love of acting.
But this was interrupted aged 19 when he was found in possession of a gun after he was arrested following a bust-up with a traffic warden.
After pleading guilty to possession of a firearm, Ashley spent nine out of his 18 month sentence in a young offenders institute in the capital.
At the time, Ashley already had two young children with former partner Natalie Williams – his first son Shayon, now 25, and his first daughter China, 23.
This period was so troubling for his still traumatised mother Pam and other members of their extended family that she and they are reluctant to discuss it now.
And for Ashley himself it is a time in his life that he is eager to forget – and not happy to be asked about.
By the time he was 18, his career took a turn and he became a rapper, starring in the Battersea-based hip hop group So Solid Crew performing under the name ‘Asher D’
But this was interrupted aged 19 when he was found in possession of a gun after he was arrested following a bust-up with a traffic warden. Pictured: Ashley arriving at Southwark Crown Court for his hearing
Pictured: Ashley with five of his eight children along with his granddaughter
Ashley with his wife Danielle Isaie who have two children Amaiya-Love, 10, and River, 8
Pictured: Ashley’s first son Shayon, 25, who he fathers with former partner Natalie Williams
The Top Boy star battled alcohol addiction for years after his 18-month stint in a young offenders’ institute in 2002 (Ashley and his younger children are pictured)
Ashley pictured with his son River earlier in 2020
‘It’s a distant memory,’ he told the Evening Standard last month. ‘I didn’t want to be there. Obviously. But it was a moment in time. It happened.’
Ashley views prison as ‘just another challenge’ he had to go through after growing up in ‘hardship’, raised by a hard working single mother alongside his adoring grandparents.
And since day one his mother has always been his biggest supporter – posing next to billboards of his face when he was starring in Top Boy or sharing pictures of him on television.
‘Always proud of my boy’s achievements in this challenging sector,’ she wrote.
The jail time, however, is not something the grandfather-of-one regrets, claiming it helped shape his career to date.
He said: ‘It was something I had to go through to be sitting here now, talking about the projects I’m doing. Other than that? I’m over it. I have no regrets because I’m a better man for it.’
Starting afresh – and taking a step back from those friends who were a bad influence to him – Ashley continued to pursue his acting career, getting cast regularly in television shows and films.
‘I made a conscious decision when I came out of prison that I was going to change my circle and I have been very vigilant about the people I have around me,’ he told The Times.
‘You find that a lot of people start resenting you for your lack of contact because they don’t understand how much pressure you’re under and how hard you have to work.’
It wasn’t until 2011 when he was thrown back into the public limelight again, quickly emerging as one of Britain’s most talented actors for his role in the Hackney drugs drama Top Boy.
For the show’s five series, Ashley played gun-toting gang leader Dushane roaming around a fictional east London estate.
It was a role that years earlier he might have avoided. Following his success in Bullet Boy – a crime drama about inner-city youth and knife crime – he was determined not to be typecast or hired for roles based on stereotypes about his skin colour.
That changed, however, with Top Boy, with the initial script ‘wowing’ him.
‘Dushane was intelligent. Until then our crime shows depicted criminals as unorganised,’ he said. ‘But Top Boy gave insight into what was behind crime, rather than just the outcome.’
Top Boy went from success to success, reaping in awards at the British Academy Television Awards.
As Ashley’s fame continued to soar, he also met the love of his life, fellow actor Danielle Isaie in 2013.
Top Boy went from success to success, reaping in awards at the British Academy Television Awards. Pictured: Ashley as gang leader Dushane in the Netflix series
For the show’s five series, Ashley played gun-toting gang leader Dushane roaming around a fictional east London estate
As Ashley’s fame continued to soar, he also met the love of his life, fellow actor Danielle in 2013
Following their wedding, Ashley – who also has two daughters Antonia and Ashleigh with another woman – and his wife welcomed two more children, Amaiya-Love, 10, and River, eight, as well as being a stepfather to Danielle’s other son Junayde.
Despite his career success, Ashley says he still had a dependence on alcohol – one which was only stopped five years ago after his six-year-old daughter asked him to move out of their family home.
Speaking to ITV during the Adolescence press junket he said: ‘I am nearly five years sober now.
‘I had a good 15 years out there you know drinking, partying, stuff like that and it took its toll on me.
‘You know on my body, it took a bit of a toll on my career but more importantly on my family, on my wife and my kids.
‘The day I decided to get help was the day that my six-year-old daughter at the time knocked on my bedroom door and said that she didn’t want me to live there anymore. And that was hard to take, it hit me in the heart.
‘But for a lot of people suffering from addiction your rock bottom is you rock bottom, you’re only going to do it in your own time.
‘Nobody is going to tell you to do it and for me that was it, looking at my daughter and realising I was damaging her maybe in the same way I had already damaged my older children and I just wanted to change.’
Adolescence made television history as the first streaming show to top the UK’s weekly TV ratings breaking the dominance of the traditional broadcasters
The first episode of Adolescence was watched by 6.45 million people in its first week, according to ratings body Barb
The next day he stopped drinking and smoking and has been sober ever since.
The family also took the decision to take a step back from the busyness of London, instead moving to Herne Bay in Kent with his two youngest girls and their small dog for a slower pace of life.
Following Top Boy the star had considered quitting acting all together – trading it in for a role behind the camera.
But Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne’s script for the huge Netflix hit Adolescence changed his mind – even creating a new love for the job he’s had since a child.
‘I came into this job personally thinking that I was going to quit acting,’ he told The Radio Times. ‘So before I was like, “I’ve had enough.”’
He wanted to try out directing but it was his co-star Stephen that convinced him to come and audition.
‘So I came, didn’t realise how intense it was going to be, but it was so intense,’ he added.
‘The challenge was great. I was crying into my script most nights in the apartment, so scared I’m not going to remember the material. But actually, coming out of it, I grew. There was a newfound love for the craft and what I do.’
Walters wanted to try out directing but it was his co-star Stephen Graham convinced him to audition for the role
(Left to right) Christine Tremarco, Faye Marsay, Jo Hartley, Amelie Pease, Owen Cooper, Ashley Walters, Robbie O’Neill, Hannah Walters and Stephen Graham attend the Adolescence special screening at BAFTA
Adolescence made television history as the first streaming show to top the UK’s weekly TV ratings breaking the dominance of the traditional broadcasters.
The first episode of Adolescence was watched by 6.45 million people in its first week, according to ratings body Barb.
While the second episode of Adolescence was seen by 5.94 million, with BBC One’s The Apprentice and Death in Paradise third and fourth respectively in the weekly chart with almost 5.8 million each.
The Netflix hit has topped the streaming giant’s most viewed charts in 71 countries, and amassed 24.3 million views worldwide in its first week.
