A piece of art created by Banksy was painted over by Hollywood actor Christopher Walken in the final episode of BBC series The Outlaws.
The six-part comedy-drama, which Stephen Merchant co-created with US writer and producer Elgin James, and also directed, follows a group of misfits renovating a derelict community centre in Bristol, as part of community service for crimes they have committed.
The anonymous street artist, who hails from Bristol, painted a rat with a can of spray paint with the words “Banksy” written above it for the series, the show has said.
In the final episode, which aired on BBC iPlayer on 10 November, viewers see Walken’s character, Frank, completing his community service by painting over graffiti.
Upon finding the artwork, he asks his probation officer, Diane (Jessica Gunning), if he should paint over it, to which a distracted Diane explains that any graffiti must be painted over.
The series, and final sixth episode, then ends with Frank painting over the graffiti.
A spokesman for The Outlaws said: “We can confirm that the artwork at the end of The Outlaws was an original Banksy, and that Christopher Walken painted over that artwork during the filming of this scene, ultimately destroying it.”
Actor, writer and comedian Merchant is also from Bristol, and he plays lawyer Greg in the series alongside teenager Rani (Rhianne Barreto), socialite Gabby (Eleanor Tomlinson), young doorman Christian (Gamba Cole), rightwing businessman John (Darren Boyd), radical activist Myrna (Clare Perkins), and conman Frank, played by Walken.
Last month a partially shredded Banksy painting sold for £18,582,000 at auction in London. The artwork, Love is in the Bin, was sold by auction house Sotheby’s, who cited the fee as a record for the street artist.
The painting, originally titled Girl With Balloon, hit headlines in 2018 when it partially self-destructed at the conclusion of a previous auction in which it had been sold for £1.1m.
The canvas was passed through a secret shredder hidden inside the large frame, leaving the bottom half in tatters and only a solitary red balloon left on a white background in the frame.
Love is in the Bin outperformed its price estimate of between £4m and £6m.
Girl With Balloon, which depicts a small child reaching up towards a heart-shaped red balloon, was originally stencilled on a wall in east London and has been endlessly reproduced, becoming one of Banksy’s best-known images.
The Outlaws is available on BBC iPlayer and the series will be available in the US on Amazon Prime in the new year.