In The Long Run is a semi-autobiographical comedy (Picture: Splash News, SKY)

Idris Elba has said In The Long Run will tackle racial divide and stereotypes and show ‘where England really came from.’

Idris has created semi-autobiographical comedy In The Long Run, in which he stars as Walter Easmon, a father who has to help his wayward younger brother Valentine – who has been dispatched from Sierra Leone – settle down in England and find his path in life.

Speaking to Metro.co.uk ahead of the show’s premiere the Thor actor admitted that the comedy, set in East London in 1985, is fairly risky at times.

Idris Elba says In The Long Run will show ‘where England really came from’ (Picture: WireImage)

‘The humour is a bit unsafe, if you like,’ he told us. ‘We do tackle stereotypes and we do tackle racial divide, culture divide. But we have a laugh about it.’




The series displays a multi-cultural London in the backdrop of the 1985 Brixton riots whilst focusing on the Easmon family who are from both Ghana and Sierra Leone – much like Idris’ home when growing up in Hackney, East London.

When we asked the 45-year-old if showing a diversity of cultures on British television was important to him he revealed that he wanted to show a true representation of what Britain was like.

‘That’s what we wanted to do,’ he said. ‘To show that this is where England really came from.’

The show is loosely based on his childhood growing up in London (Picture: Sky)

‘We tried to be very correct and at least right about the cultural traditions and spent the time to get it right.’

Idris also hopes the Sky One series will inspire younger generations to write and create more content about a British experience that is not one dimensional.

He explained: ‘I think In The Long Run is just an example of what it is to share more than one culture on screen.

‘I think it will inspire others to go “Oh actually! I’ll write about this culture because we haven’t seen much of it on screen.”‘

At a press screening for the series, Idris said Walter is loosely based on his father, so stepping into his shoes was a form of therapy.

Idris’ dad Winston died after a battle with cancer (Picture: Olivia Harris/LNP/REX/Shutterstock)

He said: ‘My dad only passed about four years ago. It was emotional.

‘Dressing up like him, it was good therapy. My dad was quite funny and a life of the party kind of guy.’

Idris also defended the ‘casual racism’ used in his programme, saying it was reflective of the period of time he grew up in.

He explained: ‘There is casual racism in our show and it’s important to show that because that’s exactly what it was like, rightly or wrongly.

‘For us to put that in modern TV is a brave move. It shouldn’t just come from a black person or a white person, it came from everyone, that’s how it was at the time. People weren’t as sensitive about it then.’

In The Long Run premieres on 29 March at 10pm on Sky One and Streaming Service NOW TV.

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MORE: Idris Elba says making In The Long Run was like ‘therapy’ after the death of his dad