(Credits: Netflix)

Adolescence has received the backing of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as he said he found the Netflix drama starring Stephen Graham “hit home hard” to his own life and issues in the country.

Starmer revealed he had watched the series with his own teenage children in parliament last week, but has now commented further after Netflix agreed on March 31st to allow Adolescence to be screened in all UK secondary schools via the Into Film+ streaming service.

The PM said: “As a father, watching this show with my teenage son and daughter, I can tell you – it hit home hard. It’s an important initiative to encourage as many pupils as possible to watch the show.”

He continued: “As I see from my own children, openly talking about changes in how they communicate, the content they’re seeing, and exploring the conversations they’re having with their peers is vital if we are to properly support them in navigating contemporary challenges, and deal with malign influences.”

Starmer was speaking as he chaired a roundtable discussion regarding the themes of Adolescence with the NSPCC and other children’s charities.

The series has struck a nerve across the country and worldwide as its continuous one-shot episodes capture the terrifying reality of young boys being indoctrinated on social media by misogynistic ideology, as Stephen Graham plays the father of a 13-year-old accused of the murder of a female classmate.

It has made history in the UK as the first show from a streaming service to become the most watched programme in the country in the weeks after its release.

In response to the announcement of it being streamed in schools, Adolescence’s co-creator, Jack Thorne, said: “We made this show to provoke a conversation. We wanted to pose the question – ‘how do we help stop this growing crisis?’. So to have the opportunity to take this into schools is beyond our expectations. We hope it’ll lead to teachers talking to the students, but what we really hope is it’ll lead to students talking amongst themselves.”