Ashley Walters
Walters filmingTruckers in 2013
Background information
Also known as	Asher D
Born	Ashley Anthony Walters (1982-06-30)30 June 1982 (age 43) Peckham, London, England
Genres	UK garage grime hip hop
Occupations	Actor rapper songwriter
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Crescent Moon Media AD82
Children	8

Ashley Anthony Walters (born 30 June 1982), also known by his stage nameAsher D, is a British actor and rapper. He first rose to fame as a member of theUK garage groupSo Solid Crew who hit the top spot on the UK charts in 2001 with their second single, "21 Seconds".

Walters is notable for portraying drug dealer Dushane in five series of the British crime dramaTop Boy (2011–2023). Other credits includeGrange Hill (1997),Storm Damage (2000),Bullet Boy (2004),Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005),Life and Lyrics (2006),Hustle (2007),Outcasts (2011),Doctor Who (2013),Truckers (2013),Cuffs (2015),The Aliens (2016),Bulletproof (2018–2021),A Thousand Blows (also directed episodes 4, 5 and 6),Missing You, andAdolescence (all 2025), the latter earned him a nomination for aPrimetime Emmy Award.

Ashley Anthony Walters^[1] was born on 30 June inPeckham,south-east London,^[2][3] to Jamaican and Guyanese parents. He was raised by his mother, Pamela Case, a local government officer.^[4]

He attended St. George's CE Primary School,Camberwell, from the age of four, then at Pimlico School, now known asPimlico Academy,^[5] completing hisGCSEs, receiving good grades in all 10 subjects.^[5] He also studiedperforming arts at theSylvia Young Theatre School.^[5]

In July 2001, following an argument with atraffic warden, Walters was found to be carrying a loaded Brocockair pistol modified to firelive ammunition.^[6] He was arrested and, in 2002, jailed for 18 months, in ayoung offenders' institute. Having spent the previous nine months in custody, he subsequently served an additional seven months to complete his sentence.^[6][7]

Walters started his music career as arapper known as Asher D,^[8] joining theBattersea-basedUK garage groupSo Solid Crew in 2001.^[9] The group achieved a number one hit on the UK singles chart in 2001, with their second single, "21 Seconds".^[5]

After the group split, he went solo, recording the albumIn Memory of the Street Fighter (2006),^[10] featuring the single "Andrea", and the track "Every Little Thing I Say".^[10] He released a studio album in 2008 entitledThe Appetiser, a 12-track album produced with Laurence Ezra.^[10]

In early 2012, Walters signed a recording contract with theindependent record label SK Records.^[11] His single "How You Like Me Now" was released on 29 July 2012, followed by "Your Love" released on 12 November 2012, featuring vocals fromAlesha Dixon.^[11]

Walters is also an actor, appearing under his full name, Ashley Walters. He appeared on television as Omar inThe Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992) at age 10,^[12] and as Andy inGrange Hill (1997), at the age of 14.^[13] He appeared inSaul Dibb's 2004 feature filmBullet Boy,^[2] where he played Ricky, who had just been released from prison and back into living a normal life, a role for which Walters was named Best Newcomer at theBritish Independent Film Awards.^[12] He also appeared in 2005'sGet Rich or Die Tryin'.^[12]

In 2006, he played the role of Wolf in the filmStormbreaker,^[2] and Danny inLife and Lyrics,.^[2] In 2007, he starred inWΔZ,^[14] alongsideSelma Blair andMelissa George, and inSugarhouse.^[2] He played Lacey in theBBC Three drama pilotWest 10 LDN.^[14] He played the character Billy Bond in five episodes of the fourth series ofBBC TV dramaHustle.^[14] He also appeared in theMTV seriesTop Buzzer and played the role of Al B alongsideDennis Hopper inHouse of 9 (2006).^[14]

Walters performed on stage in 2002 at theRoyal National Theatre inRoy Williams'Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads^[15] and in 2008 at theRoyal Court Theatre inLevi David Addai'sOxford Street.^[16] Another feature film,Tuesday (2008), sees him playing a jewel thief. He appeared inBola Agbaje's playOff the Endz at theRoyal Court Theatre during February and March 2010.^[17]

He made appearances inITV's police dramaThe Bill and firefighting dramaLondon's Burning.^[14] HisGrange Hill history and autobiography was referenced by the comedianStewart Lee on 16 March 2009, on theBBC Two showStewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle^[14] in the episode themed on "Toilet Books". Walters also appeared on BBC TV in 2009's adaptation ofAndrea Levy'sSmall Island,^[14] and as Jack Holt in the short-lived dramaOutcasts (2011).^[14]

For theBBC Learning project "Off By Heart Shakespeare", Walters delivered one ofShakespeare's best known speeches — "But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?" fromRomeo and Juliet.^[18] In October 2011, Walters starred in the Arjun Rose slasherDemons Never Die.^[14] From 2011, he played Dushane inChannel 4's four-part dramaTop Boy.^[2]

In February 2012, he played Chris in the BBC dramaInside Men.^[14] He managed to get in trouble with the producers on the first day of filming theDoctor Who episode "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS",^[14] when he tweeted a picture of himself in his costume in his trailer with the word "space". The picture was immediately removed.^[19] In 2013, Walters reprised his role as main character Dushane in the second series ofTop Boy.^[2] In 2017, Walters received theBritish Urban Film Festival (BUFF) honorary award for 25 years of outstanding contribution to film and television.^[20]

From 2018-2022, Walters co-created and co-starred alongsideNoel Clarke in the Britishpolice procedural television series,Bulletproof, where he playedNCA Officer Ronnie Pike for 3 seasons.^[21][22] In 2024, Walters starred in an advertising campaign forPG Tips, directed bySteve McQueen.^[23]

In 2025, Production started onAnimol, his feature length directorial debut.^[24] Later in 2025, he played Detective Inspector Luke Bascombe in theNetflix seriesAdolescence,^[25] where his character was the central figure in two episodes, that were continuously shot in one-hour long uncut segments of filming.^[25] Waters later admitted that it was the most difficult acting experience he had ever had to undertake.^[25] For his performance, he was nominated for the 2025Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

Walters has four children with his ex-partner.^[26] He lives with his wife, Danielle Walters, and their two children inHerne Bay, Kent.^[27] His wife is an actress featured inChewing Gum,Top Boy, andEastEnders.^[28]

On 31 March 2014, he was fined £600 after he admitted assaulting a security guard inAberdeen in September 2013.^[29] In July 2014, he was fined £1,250 for possession of cannabis atHolyhead,Anglesey.^[30] In May 2016, Walters was fined £1,000 after admitting to using threatening words and behaviour towards staff at the Hilton Hotel, Islington.^[31] Walters has said his father's absence while he was growing up contributed to his criminal behaviour.^[32]

Walters is an avid supporter ofArsenal F.C.^[33]

In December 2019, along with 42 other leading cultural figures, Walters signed a letter endorsing theLabour Party underJeremy Corbyn's leadership in the2019 general election. The letter stated that "Labour's election manifesto under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership offers a transformative plan that prioritises the needs of people and the planet over private profit and the vested interests of a few."^[34][35]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toAshley Walters.

• Asher D discography atDiscogs
• Asher D atIMDb
• Asher D atMyspace

• 1982 births
• Living people
• 20th-century English male actors
• 21st-century English male actors
• Actors from the London Borough of Southwark
• Alumni of the Sylvia Young Theatre School
• Black British male rappers
• English male rappers
• English male film actors
• English male television actors
• English people of Jamaican descent
• English people of Guyanese descent
• Grime music artists
• Male actors from London
• People educated at Pimlico School
• People from Peckham
• Rappers from the London Borough of Southwark
• So Solid Crew members
• UK garage musicians

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