Top Boy creator Ronan Bennett claimed Drake rescued the Channel 4 show after it was cancelled following two seasons, which originally aired in 2011 and 2013.
Speaking during BAFTA Television’s The Sessions: The Making Of Top Boy on Friday, the writer, 64, explained that the rapper, 33, approached him to express his interest in helping revive the show.
Detailing how they came into contact, he explained: ‘After two successful seasons on Channel 4, when Top Boy was cancelled it was one of those ones I wasn’t able to shrug off.
Helping hand: On Friday Top Boy creator Ronan Bennett discussed how Drake (pictured in 2016)rescued the show after its cancellation and helping it get picked up by Netflix
‘It meant too much. It was an incredible family feeling about the cast and the crew and filmmakers. It was very hard and difficult to understand.
‘When I heard that Drake was interested I didn’t pay it a lot of mind, partly because I didn’t know who he was.
‘It wasn’t until I met him a bit later that it became clear he was serious and we really had a chance of going forward.’
Honest: Ronan said of the cancellation, ‘When Top Boy was cancelled it was one of those ones I wasn’t able to shrug off’ (Kano pictured as Sully and Ashley Walters as Dushane on the show)
Ronan went on: ‘I realised maybe it turns out he’s quite big. We met him in London, myself and my colleagues, he was great.
‘And he was very genuine and just really loved it and all he said to us was we just want you to do what you do and all we want to be is the fuel to your fire and to help it get back up again.
‘He didn’t want to control it, he wanted us to do the same thing again.’
Admitting he didn’t ‘pay too much attention’ at first when Drake first expressed an interest, Ronan said he met him and realised he wanted to ‘help it get back up again’
Drake became an executive producer for the show, which was picked up in 2017 by Netflix for a first season which was aired in September last year.
The chart-topping rapper previously revealed he was inspired to work on the series after stumbling across the show in 2017.
The artist told the Hollywood Reporter at the time: ‘That human element drew me in. I started just looking them up.
‘Like, who are these people? Are these actors I should know? Are they just famous over there? I remember I hit Future, and I was just like, “This show is incredible.”‘
Supportive: Ronan (pictured in September 2019) said of Drake, ‘He didn’t want to control it, he wanted us to do the same thing again’
Netflix confirmed in February that the crime drama series, starring the likes of Ashley Walters as leading character Dushane and 2020 EE BAFTA Rising Star recipient Micheal Ward as Jamie, will be back for a second season.
The show was slated to film in the spring, but the coronavirus pandemic has led to production being stalled on a number of shows so it is unclear when filming will be able to begin.
Just weeks after its release in September 2019, the first season of Toy Boy became one of Netflix’s most-watched shows.
‘That human element drew me in’: Executive producer and rapper Drake previously revealed he was inspired to work on the series after stumbling across the show in 2017 (pictured last year)
Taking to their social media account at the time, the platform announced the news: ‘Top Boy is living up to its name – after years away from our screens it’s back, and it’s been the most-watched title on @NetflixUK this week.’
The drama follows the story of Dushane (Ashley) and Sully (Kano), who lead East London’s underground drug scene.
In season two, Top Boy introduced two junkies called Lee (Josef Altin) and Sarah (Isla Jackson-Ritchie), who were seen gaining the trust of their dealers.
However, the finale showed the duo being unveiled as undercover cops, before Top Boy’s official Twitter shared a video of the clues that led to the shock moment – leaving fans in absolute bewilderment.
Return: Netflix revived the hit show late last year after Channel 4 decided to cancel the first two series (2020 EE BAFTA Rising Star recipient Micheal Ward as Jamie)
The duo suffered a few mishaps along the way, which proved that there was something more to their characters.
On one occasion, Sarah pretends to be drunk after chucking away some alcohol while walking through a council estate.
In another scene, Lee ponders out loud ‘how long they have to keep this up for’ after being punched in the face.
It’s only during the final scene, when they are seen sitting in the police station, where viewers realise they are undercover cops hoping to lock away Dushane and Sully.
Impressive: Just weeks after its release in September 2019, Toy Boy became one of Netflix’s most-watched shows