Inside the life of Adolescence star Ashley Walters from children to candid admission about father

Adolescence is streaming on Netflix and it stars Ashley Walters as DI Luke Bascombe, the detective in charge of a murder case in which a 13-year-old boy stands accused. The role is worlds away from his previous jobs, including his role as Dushane in Top Boy.

The star admitted he had almost given up acting before he was offered the Adolescence job, saying he was starting to prefer directing. Also known by his stage name Asher D, the 42-year-old star is a British actor and rapper.

He first rose to fame as a member of the UK garage group So Solid Crew, known for their hit 21 Seconds. He gained recognition in the early 2000s with an active acting career, with appearances in Storm Damage, Bullet Boy and Life and Lyrics.

Born in Peckham to Jamaican parents, he was raised by his mother who worked as a local government officer. He achieved good grades at school, but has openly admitted to having a checkered past with the law.

In 2001 he was sentenced to 18 months in a young offenders' institution for possessing a banned gun. In the years that followed he received fines for admitting various low-level crimes.

He admitted having an absent father had contributed to his criminal behaviour.

He told Radio Times: “I was constantly looking for a father figure in every man I met, and it meant that the majority of the time I was just eager to please – or trying to get people to be proud of me.

"And that means sometimes if there was weed to sell, I would do it. If there was something bad to do, I would do it. It wasn’t about ‘I wanted to be bad’ or I was confused from my upbringing or I didn’t have an education.

“It was actually that I wanted to fit in and I wanted to feel safe and I was looking for all of those things that I was missing, really, from not having a father.”

He is now a proud dad himself to sons Shayon and Panera, and daughter China, whom he shares with ex-partner Natalie Williams.

He also has daughters Antonia and Ashleigh with another woman, as well as Amaiya-Love and River, with his actress wife Danielle, whom he married in 2013.

In addition to his own children, Ashley is also stepfather to his wife's child from a previous relationship.

Ashley and his family now live in Herne Hill, Kent, which is worlds away from his previous life in London.

Following a storm that caused havoc in the neighbourhood, he told The Guardian: "As soon as we moved in, we had cakes being brought to the door.

"After the recent storm checking that we're OK. They said, 'We noticed your gate's blown off, do you want us to help you fix it?' And for us, it's like, 'What do they want?' Because you are just so not used to that in London."

Adolescence is streaming on Netflix