Adolescence has sparked conversations up and down the country about what children get up to on their mobile phones.

Now the drama’s star Ashley Walters has revealed he locks his kids’ phones and devices away every Sunday in a bid to make them talk and be less angry.

Walters, 42, who has been lauded for his performance as policeman DI Luke Bacombe in the show, said it has become a digital free ritual in his household.

In Adolescence, teenager Jamie Miller accesses misogynistic internet forums dubbed the ‘manosphere’ on his mobile phone, before he commits a heinous crime against a schoolgirl.

Asked how parents can do more to stop children being indoctrinated on the internet, Mr Walters told the Mail: ‘Have Sunday lunch with your kids and lock their devices away. That’s what we do. 

‘Every Sunday my wife puts our children’s devices in a safe and we all have lunch together and talk.

Adolescence’s Ashley Walters reveals simple trick EVERY parent should be using to protect kids from the dangers of their smartphones

In Adolescence, teenager Jamie Miller (pictured, Owen Cooper) accesses misogynistic internet forums dubbed the ‘manosphere’ on his mobile phone, before he commits a heinous crime against a schoolgirl

Walters, 42, who has been lauded for his performance as policeman DI Luke Bacombe (pictured right) in the show, said it has become a digital free ritual in his household 

‘Most of us have devices and stuff like that. I genuinely believe as brilliant as our devices are, they have taken something away from us. 

‘That human connection. That ability to talk to someone about how you feel.

‘A problem shared is a problem halved. It’s real. It works. 

‘If we can talk about it, it can make us less angry. We talk about a problem and we can be less depressed about it.‘

Walters is father to seven children and stepfather to one. 

He has two sons, Shayon, 21, and 18-year-old Panera, and one daughter, China, 20, with ex-partner Natalie Williams.

The Top Boy actor is also the proud dad to daughters Antonia and Ashleigh, whom he shares with another woman, as well as daughter Amaiya-Love, 10, and River, 8, with wife Danielle Isaie, whom he married in 2013.

Read More Adolescence makes British TV history by becoming the most-watched show of the week

The former So Solid Crew singer is also the stepfather to his wife’s child from a previous relationship.

It comes as Adolescence, which also stars Stephen Graham as Jamie’s father and Erin Doherty as a child psychologist, made television history as the first streaming show to top the UK’s weekly TV ratings breaking the dominance of the traditional broadcasters.

The first episode of Adolescence was watched by 6.45 million people in its first week, according to ratings body Barb.

While the second episode of Adolescence was seen by 5.94 million, with BBC One’s The Apprentice and Death in Paradise third and fourth respectively in the weekly chart with almost 5.8 million each.

The Netflix hit has topped the streaming giant’s most viewed charts in 71 countries, and amᴀssed 24.3 million views worldwide in its first week.

All four episodes of Adolescence are available to stream on Netflix now.