TV’s new drama The Walk-In kicks off with a bang. A white man walks into a supermarket with a machete and hammer, locates the only colored shopkeeper there – an Asian man – and starts attacking him with a cry of “White power”.
It’s annoying stuff, but that’s not the worst part. Because this story is not made up: it is… a dramatization of real life eventsand how Britain’s far right is gaining ground in a broken country.
At the heart of this story is Matthew Collins, played by Stephen Graham, with deep conviction and a kind of immense world fatigue. We meet him on the far right giving a speech to a group of students, and if his language is a little strong, he says, it’s because he was part of the movement himself – before going straight.
Now he works for (real) charity HOPE Not Hate and helps detect and fight outbreaks of far-right extremism. Unfortunately, he has his work cut out for him – and his home life doesn’t get any easier. Constantly on the alert for the threat of retaliatory attacks, his family has moved several times over the past year, leaving his long-suffering wife (played by Leanne Best) at her wits’ end.
Stephen Graham as Matthew Collins and Shvorne Marks as Hope Not Hate Brenda collaborator
/ ITVIt’s a great starting point, but it takes a while to get going. An early scene where Collins is confronted by two police officers after the supermarket attack is shockingly awkward, but 20 minutes later the show takes its course and from then on you can’t look away.
This is largely due to the other key figure: disgruntled builder Robbie Mullen (played with convincing hesitation by Andrew Ellis), who radicalizes during the events of episode one.
It would have been fascinating to spend more time delving into just how easy it is to meander down the rabbit hole (Robbie is a little annoyed at immigrants at the start of the episode and a reported member of the far-right group National Action by the end), but the series illustrates well how attractive this world is to a certain disaffected segment of the population.
These men (and they are all men) are, as Collins puts it, “Young, lonely, devoted.” They hang out in pubs and talk about the big final battle against their various enemies; their loyalty runs on a dime; they shun friends and family who don’t share their beliefs (in one scene, Robbie is told to delete all his social media and reset his laptop, to better remain untraceable).
Dissatisfied: Robbie on a far-right march
/ ITVThe Walk-In makes for uncomfortable viewing. Screenwriter Jeff Pope deftly balances National Action’s views with the work Collins and his team are doing to counter it, creating a destabilizing wipe effect where you’re constantly chasing the latter to find out what’s happening.
The show’s biggest horror, however, lies in how divided today’s Britain is.
Throughout, the producers add images and clips from the run-up to the Brexit vote: marches and public unrest and misleading posters all pass by. The murder of Labor MP Jo Cox enters the story – although it is treated with respect – and makes it clear that this fringe rage can have horrific mainstream consequences.
And, of course, another life is at stake: that of real-life Labor MP Rosie Cooper, who is ultimately saved by Collins’s actions – and that of Robbie, who became an informer.
It’s not subtle, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s gripping drama and, I’d say, necessary watching. Show it to your friends and family – if only to make them understand how serious this all still is.
The Walk-In will be broadcast on ITV on Mondays at 9pm