John Boyega To Feature In BBC Doc Exploring Tragic Death Of Damilola Taylor

EXCLUSIVE: Star Wars star John Boyega will speak for the first time about being one of the last people to see Damilola Taylor alive in a BBC documentary about the tragic death of the 10-year-old.

Taylor was fatally stabbed in 2000 in a stairwell in Peckham, South East London, just metres from his home.

Boyega, who also grew up in Peckham, will take part in Damilola Taylor: The Last 24 Hours [working title], speaking about what it was like to be one of the last people to see him alive, sharing the fear and uncertainty that followed in the aftermath of his death. The Force Awakens and Attack the Block star is joined by other close friends and family members who reveal the events that led to Taylor’s death and talk for the first time about the impact his tragic murder has had in shaping their lives.

Taylor’s death sent shockwaves through Britain and became a defining moment in the national conversation around the horrors of knife crime. A previous BBC drama about the terrible events, Damilola: Our Loved Boy, won two BAFTAs including for Sinners star Wunmi Mosaku.

Directed by double Grierson Award-winning filmmaker Alex Thomas (Bibaa & Nicole: Murder in the Park) and produced by At Home With the Furys maker Optomen, the film retraces Taylor’s final day – charting his movements and examining the environment and pressures shaping the lives of young people around him at that time. 

Jack Bootle, the BBC’s Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual, said: “The killing of Damilola Taylor shocked the UK and changed the lives of those closest to him forever. This film traces their stories – and honours Damilola’s memory through the voices of those who knew him best.”

Thomas added: “Damilola’s story has never been told through the experience of the young people who were living it at the time. This film shows what it meant to grow up in an environment shaped by fear, bullying and the need to protect yourself — and how those pressures influenced the choices people made. Twenty-five years on, those experiences still stay with them, and many of those pressures still exist for young people today.”

Damilola Taylor: The Last 24 Hours was commissioned by Bootle. The project was developed by Ruby Rookes. Executive producer is Becky Cadman, creative directors are Nick Hornby and Tina Flintoff, and producer is Nelson Adeosun. All3Media International will handle global distribution.