The Hunt for Raoul Moat viewers praise series for highlighting victims

Brown died from his injuries and Rathband was permanently blinded. In February 2012, he died by suicide.

Viewers on Twitter praised the series for focusing on the victims, with one saying they have "gotta give @ITV a pat on the back" for the series, and another calling it "fantastic" for portraying "that monster for what he really was".

"Watched #TheHuntforRaoulMoat last night, was good, glad they're making his victims the main focus as they shouldn't be forgotten. #RIPChrisBrown and #RIPPCDavidRathband," one wrote.

Another viewer added: "If I can say anything good coming from this series is that I and I hope many others, will not forget David Rathband and Christopher Brown."

Meanwhile, others called the drama "extremely powerful" and "brilliantly delivered".

Read more:

• The Hunt for Raoul Moat's Lee Ingleby on series's "hollow ending"
• The Hunt for Raoul Moat creators explain why Paul Gascoigne doesn't appear

However, some were more critical of the series, with one Twitter user saying: "I'm from the North East, feels too much like entertainment made from such a terrible crime, so decided not to watch, I'll stick with Vera."

Another said: "What did ITV want to achieve with their dramatisation #TheHuntforRaoulMoat? To show the horror of what happened or to highlight there are some real sickos out there who think Moat was a hero. For me I just feel for the real victims Chris, Samantha, David & their families."

The creatives and stars behind the series have highlighted their conscious choice to take the focus away from Moat himself, with actress Sally Messham, who plays Samatha Stobbart in the series, saying: "This drama does not romanticise Moat. It steps away from that.

"Our director Gareth Bryn said he wanted Moat to be distant from us in the way we were filming this. So a lot of the shots are behind him. He’s a figure on the periphery. Definitely not the hero of this drama. Which is very important.”

Meanwhile, Lee Ingleby, who plays police officer Neil Adamson, added: "When I read Kevin Sampson’s scripts I thought it was a really intelligent piece. Then talking to the director Gareth Bryn and a few of the police officers involved, it was good that it wasn’t a sensationalist take on the story. It was very much matter of fact and it felt real.

"And we got to follow the story of Chris Brown, who was shot and killed by Moat, and Sam Stobbart, who he shot and injured. Along with PC David Rathband who was shot and blinded. The drama highlights the victims and also reveals the truth about Moat."

The Hunt for Raoul Moat is available to stream on ITVX. For more news, interviews and features, visit our Drama hub or find something to watch now with our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.

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