The State

The writer-director argued that TV drama, when he entered the industry as a BBC trainee in 1980, “held a mirror up to society.

“I’ve just carried on doing what was prevalent when I started. It’s just everything else that has shifted. It’s like the tide has withdrawn and left me on this little island.”

Kosminsky, who was interviewed by Channel 4 News reporter Fatima Manji, argued that “television is an incredibly powerful medium”. But, he added, “most of the time we use it for escapist tosh.

The highly anticipated four-part drama explores one of the most important issues of our time: the so-called Islamic State and the British men and women who leave their lives behind to join their ranks.