Drake a Top Boy after reviving British drama with Netflix

The Canadian rapper is a huge Ashley Walters fan
Team Top Boy: Drake (third left) with the creators of the drama, including Ashley Walters (second left) and Kano (second right)
Drake
Aime Grant Cumberbatch8 November 2017

Top Boy will return to screens in 2019, thanks to an intervention from rapper Drake.

The Canadian musician has saved the Summerhouse crew, who after a four year hiatus, are to get two more series on Netflix.

The streaming service confirmed the news in a series of tweets that explained Drake’s involvement in the show’s revival.

The official Twitter account posted a picture of Top Boy actor Ashley Walters, writing: “In October 2014, @Drake posted this photograph on Instagram.

“He had discovered a British drama series called ‘Top Boy’, starring @AshleyWalters82 and @The RealKano.

“Several months ago, @Drake came to us with a passion to help bring #TopBoy back to life, with the original creative team.

“And so in 2019, we’re going back to the Summerhouse Estate for an all-new chapter of @TopBoyNetflix.”

Walters, who played Dushane in the Channel 4 series, celebrated the news on his own Twitter page, writing: “So after years of speculation and anticipation I can finally reveal that we have managed to secure a brand new home for the new season of TOPBOY! In all honesty I'm more happy for you guys than myself.”

Drake bought the rights to the British drama, which originally aired between 2011 and 2013, earlier this year.

At the time, Walters promised that the Passionfruit hitmaker would be awarded a part in a revived series in return for his efforts.

The former So Solid Crew bandmember told the Daily Mirror: “We met up to start talking about the show and we are working out a role for him.

“He loves acting, of course he wanted a part. He’s going to be really hands on and is getting stuck into it.”

It’s not the first time Drake has shown an interest in UK street culture - his 2017 album More Life features British grime artists Giggs and Skepta.

He also tried his hand at acting, having starred in Canadian soap Degrassi: The Next Generation for six years from 2001-2007.

The original series of Top Boy focused on life in a council estate in Hackney, East London. It featured Walters and UK rapper Kano as locals who get drawn into the gang and drug culture in the area.

Top Boy arrives on Netflix in 2019.

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