CRACKING DOWN

‘Adolescence’ Star Reveals He Made a Change at Home Because of the Show

Ashley Walters said the show influenced his parenting style.

A star of Netflix’s hit show Adolescence has revealed that he is cracking down on his youngest son’s screen time due to lessons learned from the critically acclaimed series. Ashley Walters, who played DI Luke Bascombe, told Men’s Health UK that the show has inspired a “conversation” around parents being more hands-on. “No one wants to be the ogre parent that comes in and goes: ‘All right, that’s it. Everything off.’ I don’t want them to feel like they’re not the same as their friends,” the father of eight said. However, the show has prompted him to say “f--- that” and take control, he said. “You get caught up in all of that stuff as a parent, but I feel like around the world this show has allowed parents to go: ‘F--- that shit. Adolescence says this could happen; now we’re going to start having this conversation.’ I think that’s a good thing.” The series tells the story of a 13-year-old British teenager accused of killing his classmate. Producers said “male anger” and “male rage,” and how disturbing content reaches young boys through social media, were the main themes.

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