Ashley Banjo has come face to face with some of those who lashed out against Diversity's Black Lives Matter routine.
Last summer, Diversity took the knee during their powerful pro-equality performance on Britain's Got Talent, which became one of the most complained about moments in media regulator Ofcom's history.
Suddenly, Ashley and his fellow dancers were at the centre of a vicious social media pile on and thrust into the centre of the Black Lives Matter debate.
The lines between entertainment, politics and history blurred - with Ashley unintentionally becoming an activist almost overnight and Diversity winning a publicly-voted BAFTA for Must-See Moment.
A year on from that moment, Ashley has gone on a journey into his own past and into British History to explore the roots of the reaction to his performance.
He confronts political commentator and writer Dominique Samuels over her claim that he needs to stay away from politics - and is told he 'wasn't aware of all the facts' regarding BLM.
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During their discussion, Ashley says: "One thing you said that really stuck with me was, 'entertainers like us don't have an idea bout politics, we have an oversimplified view of the world'."
In response, Dominique explains: "My concern is you weren't aware of some of the facts around BLM but you just assumed because we are told every day 'it's just about racism, and if you don't support it you're a racist'."
But Ashley is adamant that this is "not true" and he was fully aware of everything that the BLM organisation stood for.
Dominique continues: "That performance, some people would see it as demonising the police, some people would see it as you promoting BLM the organisation. And what I would have appreciated is to mention the bad things about BLM as well."
Defiant Ashley says that he had just four minutes to create something on stage and did not want to waste the opportunity.
"If I didn't try to paint a picture of what was going on in the world, simplistic or not, and try and open up more of a dialogue, what kind of person does it make me?"
Dominique then hits back by claiming Diversity's performance was a 'gesture' which did not lead to any change.
"I don't personally think that performance in itself has had a seismic impact in terms of the condition of black people in this country and I think a lot of focus does get put on gestures," she adds.
As part of the documentary, Ashley talks to a wide range of contributors including: Actor David Harewood, Historian David Olusoga, fellow Britain’s Got Talent Judge Alesha Dixon, one of the UK’s most respected activists, Leila Hassan Howe and comedian Jim Davidson.
After the Diversity routine on Britain's Got Talent was aired, comedian Jim Davidson recorded content on his YouTube channel where he slammed the group for using the show platform to get their message across.
One of the few people to actually watch the performance live was BGT judge Alesha, who Ashley looked up to while he was down on on knee during the silence in the studio.
"It floored me. Yeah, absolutely floored me. I couldn't even... I mean, I'm so glad the camera never saw my face. I was crying like a baby, like I’ve never cried on TV before," admits Alesha.
"This is a reflection of how we’re all feeling – the whole year building up to that moment where everybody was allowed out but we’re carrying with us the emotional scars of what we’ve experienced as a community. And in a way, it was all bubbling to the surface. But no one could have predicted what was going to come next."
Ashley tells the singer that he wants to go out and speak to those who have been active already as well as people who disagree with him.
"I feel like the routine was just the beginning of this new chapter. I think now that lid has been lifted you can't avoid it. Those conversations have to happen," says Alesha.
"You've put yourself in the firing line once and I think this is the moment now where you act on that and you take it to the next level."
Part journey of discovery, part intimate biography, Ashley reveals how race and racism have impacted upon his life and that of his family and friends.
Admitting he didn't set out to become an activist, Ashley says: "The first time I saw the George Floyd video, I was in bed, doing my sort of like morning Instagram scroll.
"I just sat there just gobsmacked at what I was seeing. I just saw my dad. We were consistently pulled over in our area as a family, you know, at least once every two weeks.
"It just sparked something in me. It just ignited something. It was at that moment, I was like, whatever happens, I'm going to speak up about this.”
Crucially, by meeting civil rights trailblazers from modern history, he also tries to understand what it means to take a stand and gets first hand testimony of the perils and positives.
British actor David Harewood, who is launching book about his experiences, tells Ashley that the "pressure" of having his tone of skin was "massive".
David says: "It put me in a mental institution. When I came out of drama school the world said to me, 'you’re black, you’re black, you play black parts, you go for black auditions, you don’t go play this, you play that'.
"I suddenly realised, oh, I’m not going to be James Bond. I’m not going to be the hero, saving the girl, getting the money, driving the car. I’m not going to be the hero. The weight of that really hit me, knocked me for six."
Looking to find the origins of why the routine had such a reaction, Ashley also speaks to historian David Olusogo about where certain beliefs come from.
"I think it gets to the heart of the forms of racism we inherited from the 18th and 19th centuries, what those forms of racism said was black people did have some qualities that black people could be physical, they could be strong, they could be athletic," explains David.
"What you couldn’t do was have, kind of, analytical cognitive intelligence. You as a black entertainer under attack are part of a long history."
David reveals the story of Ira Aldridge, a black Shakespearian actor who was famous across the world but was driven out of London in the 1830s by reviews which attack and criticised him with very racialized language.
"When people say stick to what you know, just be a dancer, what they’re saying is I’m comfortable with the structural racism of the society I live in," he adds.
"I’m comfortable with you in this box. I’ll celebrate you in this box. But that’s the limit of who you are because of your skin colour. "
Ashley says racism today is not as obvious as it was in the 70s and 80s, while David says the difference is a lot of it was overt back then.
The historian adds: "Things have got better but racism still exists. It exists in new ways because we have new technologies and platforms. I think people feel emboldened in the past few years to say things on those platforms that they wouldn't have said a few years ago."
*Ashley Banjo: Britain in Black and White airs tonight on ITV at 9pm
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