The script for a hit new Netflix crime drama had a Kent star “crying most nights”, he has revealed.

Ashley Walters, who lives near Herne Bay, plays lead detective Luke Bascombe in hard-hitting mini-series Adolescence, which hit screens on March 12.

The show follows a family’s anguish and the police investigation after a 13-year-old boy is arrested on suspicion of murdering a classmate.

Each of the four episodes is shot in one continuous take.

In an interview with Radio Times, Walters revealed how he wasn’t looking for a job until writer Stephen Graham - who also stars - showed him the script.

The 42-year-old said: “I came into this job personally thinking that I was going to quit acting," he said.

"So before I was like, ‘I’ve had enough.’

“I've started directing and I was like, 'I want to pursue that a bit more, slow down the acting a bit, and eventually phase it out.'

“And Stephen called me and was like, ‘No, you got to come and do this job.’

"So I came, didn't realise how intense it was going to be, but it was so intense.

“The challenge was great.

“I was crying into my script most nights in the apartment, so scared I was 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.”

The series - which has attracted rave reviews - explores the issue of why young men and boys are committing extreme acts of violence against women and girls.

Walters - who is best known for starring in Top Boy - explained: "I think why this show is so great is because it's not about the crime, really.

"The crime is bad, obviously, but what we're talking about is the psychology, the reasons why someone would do what they do.

“I don't think it’s big in the press about why people are in these positions.

“We're always talking about hoodies, people stabbing each other, and more sentences and more years in prison.

“But actually, no one's actually breaking down why people are getting to this stage.”

The accused boy, Jamie Miller - played by Owen Cooper - comes from a middle-class background in the show.

Walters says this aims to show someone from any walk of life could commit a brutal crime.

“I think the eye of the storm of this thing is the conversations that weren't being had,” he said.

“And it's the what ifs - what if I had this chat? What if I offered this piece of advice?

“Or even just sat in a room; sometimes just being with people is all they need.”

Walters lives with his wife and children in a bungalow near Herne Bay.

In 2023, he told KentOnline about a planning war with Canterbury City Council, saying he would be forced to move if he did not win.

But in August last year, he finally won permission to extend his home.

Adolescence is available to watch on Netflix now.