Star Wars actor John Boyega is set to feature in a new BBC documentary exploring the tragic death of his childhood friend, Damilola Taylor.
The programme, provisionally titled Damilola Taylor: The Last 24 Hours, will delve into the final moments of the 10-year-old’s life before he was fatally stabbed in Peckham, south-east London, on 27 November 2000, mere metres from his home.
Damilola’s killing sent shockwaves across the country, becoming a pivotal moment that ignited a national conversation surrounding the devastating impact of knife crime.
The BBC One documentary will examine the profound effect Damilola’s death had on those closest to him, including Boyega, who was among the last people to see him alive and will provide previously unheard testimony.
The film will also feature accounts from other close friends and family members, offering insights into the events leading up to the schoolboy’s death and the enduring impact of the murder on their lives.
Directed by filmmaker Alex Thomas, the documentary meticulously retraces Damilola’s final day, scrutinising the environment and pressures that shaped the lives of young people in his community at the time. It will further explore the concerning rise in knife-related crimes over the 25 years since his death.
Thomas commented: "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."
Boyega, who was 8 at the time, and his sister Grace were among the last people to see Taylor alive.
The actor said he was impacted by a poem written by Damilola, read out at his funeral, as it showed him that another 10-year-old, from the same environment, “dreamed to be more”.
Speaking to John Wilson on BBC Radio 4’s Last Word in 2024, Boyega said: “From the hours we left him in Peckham to the hours when I went home, and then the police was at our door and there was a whole investigation that we were involved in, (it) was definitely life changing for me, definitely altered my perspective.”
“Even though I was young, it was a shock to understand how mortality worked. To think that somebody as young as me could pass away in such a horrific way was hard for me to understand or comprehend.
“And I definitely think Damilola’s tragic murder has definitely shaped me through the years and just affected my perspective on certain things and it definitely affected the community too.
“I mean, my sister, in particular, Grace, who was very, very close with Damilola, went through a lot, and my dad had to front that and try to protect her in that journey. It was definitely a lot for everybody to take.”
Damilola Taylor: The Last 24 Hours is scheduled to air on BBC One and iPlayer, with transmission details to be announced.
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