Ex-tabloid reporter shares how an encounter with Hugh Grant and Steve Coogan led to his acclaimed film about an Irish-language rap trio

He first came to national attention blowing the whistle on his own dubious practices at the Daily Star and earning 14 mentions in Lord Leveson’s 2012 report on the phone-hacking scandal.

Now Rich Peppiatt is heading for the red carpet and is in with a chance for six Baftas and 17 Iftas, the Irish equivalent, for Kneecap, the scabrous, semi-autobiographical story of the Belfast Irish-language rap trio.