Yes, it's the one and only Top Boy himself: Ashley Walters. As Dushane, the East London drug kingpin in Netflix's hit show Top Boy, Walters is our favourite kind of antihero - and it’s a role he’s about to reprise for the fourth series.
He joins me to talk about his own upbringing in Peckham, South London, an only child raised on a council estate by his mother, Pamela, and what it was like combining that reality with a burgeoning love for acting which sometimes felt like a double life. Plus, his failure to have invented Deliveroo (it's a long story), what prison taught him, the failure of toxic masculinity, his failure to remember lines and what being recognised by strangers has made him feel about this inner worth. I love love LOVE this episode because Ashley was so open and vulnerable in a way that just adds to his power. Enjoy!

---

How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted by Elizabeth Day, produced by Naomi Mantin and Chris Sharp. To contact us, email howtofailpod@gmail.com

---

Social Media:

Elizabeth Day @elizabday

How To Fail @howtofailpod 

Ashley Walters @ashleywalters

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices