Adolescence has only been on Netflix for a few days, but it's already being hailed as one of the best TV series of the year – and for good reason. The four-part series stars Stephen Graham, Ashley Walters and Owen Cooper, and follows the unflinching story of a 13-year-old boy who is accused of murdering a girl at his school. It's gripping stuff.
While Netflix's Adolescence has been released to great success and acclaim from viewers, it could have turned out very differently as it has recently come to light one of the stars – like, literally, main character level stars – almost quit the show.
Speaking to The Mirror, Ashley Walters (who plays DI Luke Bascombe in Adolescence and is also recognisable from his roles in Top Boy, Missing You and more) revealed that a back injury brought him close to pulling out of the series, while difficulties with the show's one-take format left him in tears every day.
Explaining that the role and format was "completely different" to anything he'd done before, Ashley said: "I wanted to do the one-shot process so much. And I turned up to set with a bad back."
The actor went on to say his injury was brought on by a game of basketball with his daughter, which worsened his pre-existing sciatica. "It was really bad," he added of the pain, saying that his involvement in the show "nearly didn't happen" because of it.
Luckily, Ashley and the team "found a good chiropractor" which helped with his sciatica – but his troubles didn't end there, as he told The Mirror he found the show's one-take format challenging. "When I got there… I f***ing regretted it," he said of his first day on set. "Every day I was going home, crying in my script. Rocking, you know. It was the hardest thing in the world."
Ashley went on to say he was "so insecure" about the set-up of the series, especially given that his character "had a lot to say" and was "leading" a lot of conversations.
We're thanking the Netflix angels that Ashley was able to pull through on this one. We really can't imagine the series without him!
