TV & Radio

In what is a quite ridiculous coincidence, a man known as Walter White is wanted by police in Alabama for charges relating to the manufacture and trafficking of methamphetamine.

That sentence will mean nothing to a large section of readers – it’s just another man wanted for drug offences after all – but will have loud bells ringing for fans of the excellent US series Breaking Bad, based on the exploits of one Walter White, a terminally ill chemistry teacher who dips his toes in the drug trade so he can support his family after he’s gone.

Like the fictitious Walter White, his real-life namesake is involved in the manufacture of methamphetamine and is wanted for violating probation in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, that began in 2010.

According to Al.com, he was arrested in 2008 for on charges of trafficking methamphetamine, unlawful manufacturing of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and possession of precursor materials.

White was subsequently placed on the sheriff’s most wanted list after being arrested for similar charges in Bibb County earlier this year and failing to turn up for a court appearance in July.

It has since turned out that White wasn’t on the run from the law but was in attendance at an inpatient treatment facility, having had a court order from another jurisdiction to get treatment.

The real Walter White has one thing in common with his fictitious namesake in that the pair of them share a beard, but unfortunately for Breaking Bad fans, that’s where the similarities end.

He doesn’t for example, go by the alter ego Heisenberg, he doesn’t have a DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) agent as a brother in law and as far as we’re aware, he doesn’t have a former student turned drug addict as a partner.

It’s still a fairly remarkable case of life imitating art, however, and brings to mind a similar story that emerged in Baltimore earlier this year where a man known as Omar Little – who will be familiar to fans of The Wire – was arrested on a handgun charge.

What's next? Is there a tempestuous marriage between a real-life Biddy and Miley somewhere in Ireland that we don't know about?

Watch this space.