John Boyega To Feature In BBC Documentary Exploring The Death Of Damilola Taylor
John Boyega is set to speak publicly for the first time about his connection to Damilola Taylor in a forthcoming BBC documentary examining the events surrounding the 10-year-old’s death. Taylor was fatally stabbed in 2000 in a stairwell in Peckham, South East London, just metres from his home. His killing sent shockwaves across the UK, […]
Black News 
John Boyega is set to speak publicly for the first time about his connection to Damilola Taylor in a forthcoming BBC documentary examining the events surrounding the 10-year-old’s death.
Taylor was fatally stabbed in 2000 in a stairwell in Peckham, South East London, just metres from his home. His killing sent shockwaves across the UK, becoming a pivotal moment in the national conversation around youth violence and knife crime.
In Damilola Taylor: The Last 24 Hours (working title), Boyega who also grew up in Peckham, reflects on being among the last to see Damilola alive. The documentary brings together voices of those closest to Taylor, including friends and family, as they revisit the final hours of his life and share, many for the first time, the lasting impact of his loss.
Directed by Grierson Award-winning filmmaker Alex Thomas (Bibaa & Nicole: Murder in the Park) and produced by Optomen, the film reconstructs Taylor’s final day, mapping his movements while interrogating the social conditions and pressures shaping the lives of young people in early 2000s London.
Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual at the BBC, 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 rarely been told through the perspectives of the young people who lived through it. This film reflects on what it meant to grow up within environments shaped by fear, bullying and survival—and how those realities influenced choices. Twenty-five years on, those experiences continue to resonate, and many of those pressures remain.”
The documentary follows the legacy of previous dramatisations, including the BAFTA-winning Damilola: Our Loved Boy, which starred Wunmi Mosaku.
Damilola Taylor: The Last 24 Hours was commissioned by Bootle and developed by Ruby Rookes. Executive producer is Becky Cadman, with creative direction from Nick Hornby and Tina Flintoff, and production by Nelson Adeosun. Global distribution will be handled by All3Media International.
