Ashley Walters

Ashley Anthony Walters (born 30 June 1982), also known by his stage name Asher D, is a British actor and rapper. He first rose to fame as a member of the UK garage group So 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 drama Top Boy (2011–2023). Other credits include Grange 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, and Adolescence (all 2025), the latter earned him a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe.

Early life and education

Ashley Anthony Walters was born on 30 June in Peckham, south-east London, to Jamaican and Guyanese parents. He was raised by his mother, Pamela Case, a local government officer. Walters has said his father's absence while he was growing up contributed to his criminal behaviour.

He attended St. George's CE Primary School, Camberwell, from the age of four, then at Pimlico School, now known as Pimlico Academy, completing his GCSEs, receiving good grades in all 10 subjects. He also studied performing arts at the Sylvia Young Theatre School.

In July 2001, following an argument with a traffic warden, Walters was found to be carrying a loaded Brocock air pistol modified to fire live ammunition. He was arrested and, in 2002, jailed for 18 months, in a young offenders' institute. Having spent the previous nine months in custody, he subsequently served an additional seven months to complete his sentence.

Music career

Walters started his music career as a rapper known as Asher D, joining the Battersea-based UK garage group So Solid Crew in 2001. The group achieved a number one hit on the UK singles chart in 2001, with their second single, "21 Seconds".

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

In early 2012, Walters signed a recording contract with the independent record label SK Records. His single "How You Like Me Now" was released on 29 July 2012, followed by "Your Love" released on 12 November 2012, featuring vocals from Alesha Dixon.

Acting career

Walters appeared on television as Omar in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992) at age 10, and as Andy in Grange Hill (1997), at the age of 14. He appeared in Saul Dibb's 2004 feature film Bullet Boy, 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 the British Independent Film Awards. He also appeared in 2005's Get Rich or Die Tryin'.

In 2006, he played the role of Wolf in the film Stormbreaker, and Danny in Life and Lyrics,. In 2007, he starred in WΔZ, alongside Selma Blair and Melissa George, and in Sugarhouse. He played Lacey in the BBC Three drama pilot West 10 LDN. He played the character Billy Bond in five episodes of the fourth series of BBC TV drama Hustle. He also appeared in the MTV series Top Buzzer and played the role of Al B alongside Dennis Hopper in House of 9 (2006).

Walters performed on stage in 2002 at the Royal National Theatre in Roy Williams' Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads and in 2008 at the Royal Court Theatre in Levi David Addai's Oxford Street. Another feature film, Tuesday (2008), sees him playing a jewel thief. He appeared in Bola Agbaje's play Off the Endz at the Royal Court Theatre during February and March 2010.

He made appearances in ITV's police drama The Bill and firefighting drama London's Burning. His Grange Hill history and autobiography was referenced by the comedian Stewart Lee on 16 March 2009, on the BBC Two show Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle in the episode themed on "Toilet Books". Walters also appeared on BBC TV in 2009's adaptation of Andrea Levy's Small Island, and as Jack Holt in the short-lived drama Outcasts (2011).

For the BBC Learning project "Off By Heart Shakespeare", Walters delivered one of Shakespeare's best known speeches — "But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?" from Romeo and Juliet. In October 2011, Walters starred in the Arjun Rose slasher Demons Never Die. From 2011, he played Dushane in Channel 4's four-part drama Top Boy.

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

From 2018 to 2022, Walters co-created and co-starred alongside Noel Clarke in the British police procedural television series, Bulletproof, where he played NCA Officer Ronnie Pike for 3 seasons. In 2024, Walters starred in an advertising campaign for PG Tips, directed by Steve McQueen.

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

Personal life

Walters has four children with his ex-partner. He lives with his wife, Danielle Walters, and their two children in Herne Bay, Kent. His wife is an actress featured in Chewing Gum, Top Boy, and EastEnders. Walters is a cousin of singer Olivia Dean.

On 31 March 2014, he was fined £600 after he admitted assaulting a security guard in Aberdeen in September 2013. In July 2014, he was fined £1,250 for possession of cannabis at Holyhead, Anglesey. In May 2016, Walters was fined £1,000 after admitting to using threatening words and behaviour towards staff at the Hilton Hotel, Islington.

Walters is an avid supporter of Arsenal F.C.

Political views

In December 2019, along with 42 other leading cultural figures, Walters signed a letter endorsing the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership in the 2019 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."

Filmography

Film

Television

Web

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

Singles

External links

• discography at Discogs
• at IMDb
• at Myspace