'It was like he'd eaten Tom Hardy' – Stephen Graham's co-star Daniel Mays breaks down body transformations

As the imagery and trailer for the series were unveiled, fans were taken aback by the transformation of the Merseyside actor, with Graham recently explaining at a Q&A that "the aim was to try and make [him] look like a bulldog".

As depicted in the series, which is now available to stream on Disney Plus, Sugar Goodson is not a man to be messed with or tested, and he will stop at nothing to ensure he wins in and out of the boxing ring.

Graham had undergone six months of training prior to filming and followed a strict workout and diet regime to get into the figure of Sugar, with co-star Daniel Mays exclusively telling RadioTimes.com it seemed as though Graham had "eaten Tom Hardy" when he came to set.

"It felt like I came pretty late to it," Mays explained. "Then I was there on set and Stephen stepped out for the first time and it was like he'd eaten Tom Hardy.

"All of these guys, I was blown away by the amount of preparation that they’d all put into it, not only to physically get them into shape to play these fighters, but it was all the choreographed fights as well."

Mays plays William 'Punch' Lewis, a bartender and host of the underground boxing fights, getting all attendees into the spirit of the ruthless boxing matches.

He continued: "I'm obviously front and centre announcing them all, but to be there on set every day, I mean, what you don’t see is the fact that they have to keep going take after take. So stamina, it was second to none. They worked so hard."

Read more:

• A Thousand Blows review: Peaky Blinders comparisons will come, but this boxing drama is its own beast
• Peaky Blinders creator's A Thousand Blows unveils first look at the Forty Elephants

In an interview with Radio Times magazine, Graham opened up on becoming the "threatening and extremely violent" Sugar Goodson, detailing just what went into his training for the character.

In preparation for the role, Graham trained five days a week and ate five meals a day and worked with a team of coaches to gain the desired physique for the brutal boxer.

"Lots of protein: chicken, rice and broccoli," Graham said. "Every Friday I was allowed a treat, a Nando's or a burger, but with no bun. And I could have some ice cream."

It was only when Graham looked back on filming his first scene where he realised just how much he had changed.

"It was the shot of my back when the camera's following me," he said. "I went, F*****g hell, is that me?'"

But it wasn't just working out and a new diet that helped Graham get into character, with the actor looking to certain boxing figures when embodying Sugar, revealing at a Q&A that he wanted to "try and combine the style of Mike Tyson with Lenny McLean".

He said: "I wanted to base my kind of style of fighting on the two of them, so that's what we brought to the table."

A Thousand Blows is available to watch on Disney Plus now. You can sign up to Disney Plus from £4.99 a month now.

Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.