Stephen Graham is delivering a masterclass in acting in Adolescence as the Line of Duty star takes on the role of Eddie Miller, whose son is accused of murdering a female classmate.
Away from the harrowing role, Stephen is able to relax at home with wife Hannah Walters and their two children. The star's wife is also a famous actress and the pair regularly star together, appearing in 13 different roles together. The couple have previously given a hilarious insight into their personal life when they were joined by their children for an episode of Celebrity Gogglebox.
Here's everything you need to know about the star's life away from the screen.
Wife Hannah Walters
Stephen met Hannah when they were students at Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in London, and the relationship has stood the test of time, with the pair marrying in 2008.
However, the couple's romance nearly never happened. The pair were friends for five years before Stephen asked Hannah on a date, and the actor admitted on Desert Island Discs that he only made the move as Hannah was looking to move to Spain. He reflected: "I said 'please don't go to Spain'. She asked 'why?' and I said 'Well, I love you.' She said she'd been waiting five years for me to say that. And the next day we moved in together. And we've been together ever since."
© WireImageThe couple are no strangers to acting together; they both appeared in Shane Meadows' hugely successful creation, This Is England. Hannah played the part of Trudy in the TV series, while Stephen played Andrew "Combo" Gascoigne in the 2006 original movie and in the TV spin-offs. The pair are currently on-screen together in Adolescence, but have also appeared together in A Thousand Blows, Boiling Point, and Time, among others.
Speaking about the longevity of their marriage, the actor told Leicestershire Live in 2018: "We were bezzie mates. Which is the best way, isn't it? After a while, we just thought: this is daft, do you know what I mean? We like each other, we should get together."
© Getty Images for BFIBoth Stephen and Hannah live in Ibstock, a small village three miles southwest of Coalville. Speaking of the places the family have lived in the past, Stephen joked: "London. Rome. Ibstock. I don't suppose there's many people who can say that." The TV star also remarked: "I'm part of the furniture here. I love the sense of camaraderie in Ibstock, the community spirit. It's a proper English village."
Back in 2020, Stephen heaped praise on his other half as he revealed that his struggle with dyslexia has meant Hannah has had to help pick his roles. "I'm dyslexic, so I struggle," he said at the BAFTA Sessions panel. "My missus actually reads the script and says whether or not I'm doing it. She's made some good choices. I have to read it and read it and read it, then make it look like it's the first time I'm saying it."
Children
The couple are proud parents to their children Grace and Alfie. Speaking to The Times, Stephen explained: "We have ups and downs, of course. Luckily, though, the relationship we both have with our children is beautiful – but it takes work."
© Dave Benett/Getty ImagesStephen revealed in 2023 that while one of his children might follow in his footsteps, the other wasn't interesting in the acting world at all. "Grace is actually going to take a year out and work at Matriarch next year," he shared. "But Alfie, nah, he doesn’t want anything to do with it at all. Although he is a poser, he likes modelling, and he’s got a few shoots."
The star once nearly adopted his young This Is England co-star Thomas Turgoose after his mother died from cancer. Speaking on the Private Parts podcast in 2021, Thomas confessed: "I spent a lot of time with Shane Meadows and Stephen Graham. They agreed between them that if they didn’t get on with my dad, or if they didn't see my dad fit to bring me up, they were gonna adopt me."
