Adolescence star Stephen Graham reveals he taught his daughter how to throw a punch from a young age because he feared for her safety around men

Adolescence star Stephen Graham has revealed he taught his daughter how to throw a punch from a young age because he feared for her safety around men.

The actor, 53, said he wanted Grace, now 21, to be able to defend herself if she ever found herself in danger, admitting he has always worried about her when she is out.

Stephen, who shares Grace and his son Alfie, 20, with his actress wife Hannah Walters, 52, spoke about the lengths he went to while discussing the fear many women feel about being attacked by men.

'From a young age - now maybe people may say this is wrong - but from a young age I've always wanted our Grace to throw a great right just in case,' he told Fearne Cotton's Happy Place podcast on Monday.

'It's fantastic and it's great for aggression. But it's also....' When Fearne suggested self-defence, he replied, 'Exactly.'

The actor added: 'The fact that we're having to have that conversation shows where we are as a society and shows what it is.

'But surely - and things have to change, I get that - but I've always wanted her to be able to just at least do something.'

His comments come after Stephen's hit Netflix drama Adolescence sparked a major debate about violence against women and girls, toxic masculinity and the influence of the online 'manosphere' on teenage boys.

The award-winning series follows 13-year-old Jamie Miller after he is arrested for the murder of a female schoolmate, with Stephen playing the boy's father, Eddie.

Stephen, who has been married to This Is England actress Hannah for 18 years, has said the idea for the drama was partly driven by real-life reports of girls being killed by boys.

Speaking about what had first troubled him, he recalled reading about the fatal stabbing of a young girl in Liverpool and the arrest of boys of a similar age.

He said: 'It hit my heart. Do you know what I mean? If I'm honest, I just thought, have we got to this point where a young lad thinks that this is OK or an even possibility? Where does that come from?'

Stephen said the team behind Adolescence had not set out believing the programme would change society, but wanted to examine why such violence could happen.

He explained: 'We weren't trying to change anything. We weren't trying to do anything specific. We just wanted to raise awareness and bring attention to this thing that was happening at the time and to have a proper look at it.

'And ultimately, it was about opening those bedroom doors and creating beginnings of a dialogue between our sons and our daughters and the youth in general.'

The actor has now turned his attention to the pressures facing boys and young men in new book Letters To Our Sons, which he has co-authored with psychology lecturer Orly Klein.

Stephen said young people now face a vastly different world to the one he experienced growing up, with social media exposing them to an overwhelming number of voices telling them how to behave.

He said: 'Today, they're swamped with so many people who tell you certain things to do and tell you how to behave and give you their own narrative.'

Stephen said young men could become fixated on online images of wealth and success, including 'having a flash car' and being told they could make huge amounts of money.

But he said parents and society needed to encourage boys to develop empathy rather than simply condemn them.

He added: 'Irrespective of your political views, ultimately, you want to raise a young man who has empathy and love.

'There's a lot of division in the world at the minute. Do you know what I mean? There's a lot of hatred out there from both sides as well.

'I'm not saying who's right and who's wrong. I'm just saying there's a lot of it out there.'

Stephen, who has spoken about his close relationship with both of his children, said he believes attitudes towards masculinity also have to change.

He said: 'I feel the biggest masculine quality of a man is his vulnerability. I think that's important. It's important for us to talk, not just to our sons, but to our daughters.

'We no longer have to carry these big burdens on our own.'