Haunting TV drama about aftermath of horrifying Southport murders which shocked UK being made for streamer like Netflix

Scottish Sun

7 hours ago

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THE horrifying murder of three schoolgirls in Southport has inspired a TV drama.
Sadistic Axel Rudakubana was jailed for 52 years for killing Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Bebe King, six, and Alice Da Silva Aguiar, nine, when he launched an attack on a Taylor Swift dance class.
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Irish actor Jonas Armstrong will lead the project, which has a working title of Rooted Out
Credit: Getty
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Sadistic Axel Rudakubana was jailed for 52 years for killing Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Bebe King, six, and Alice Da Silva Aguiar, nine, when he launched an attack on a Taylor Swift dance class
Credit: PA
Eight other children and two adults – dance class leader Leanne Lucas and businessman Jonathan Hayes – were seriously wounded.
Now a haunting two-part drama is in the works covering the devastating riots that followed.
Irish actor Jonas Armstrong will lead the project, which has a working title of Rooted Out.
He said: 'There were riots in the UK two summers ago because a few girls were murdered by a young man over in Southport, which is just across the water from where I am.
'Riots were kicking off throughout the country and loads of people were arrested and there was a lot of anger and frustration going on.
'This is the backdrop of that.
'The character I play is Oxford-educated and now is a university lecturer at the London School Of Economics.'
Production will begin this month, Jonas said, and will make up two 90-minute parts which will air on a streaming platform like Netflix.
Real life horrors are increasingly looked at by TV execs, with titles including Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story and David Tennant's Des on Dennis Nilsen and Little Boy Blue on the murder of Rhys Jones.
The actor, who is best known as Robin Hood in the BBC's 2006 series, shared more on the project's direction on podcast Lament of Hope, adding: 'I spoke to the writer and director and I said 'Why did you think of me?' and he said 'Because this breaks down racial bias, social bias, stereotypes, northern bias'.'
Shocking new footage shows yobs hurl bricks & bottles at police as 3 more thugs jailed
David: I'll never say dye
He may have been on our screens for over two decades now, but David Walliams isn't worried about looking like his Little Britain days by dyeing his hair.
The comedian, and former Britain's Got Talent judge, revealed he's turned down offers from his hairdresser to touch up his greying barnet.
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David Walliams says he's happy to go grey and won't dye his hair despite offers from his hairdresser
Credit: Alamy
He said: 'Someone offered to dye my hair the other day and I thought, 'That is a slippery slope' isn't it? Dyeing your hair and then dyeing your beard, it is weird.
'A hairdresser said, 'Oh do you want me dye it?' I was like 'No, you end up like Jimmy.'
But his Come Fly With Me co-star Matt Lucas, who lost his hair due to alopecia, joked to the Making A Scene podcast he'd love a new 'do.
He told David that if he could have hair, he'd opt for long curly locks like Brian May or 1980s Arsenal player, Charlie Nicholas.
A Prime Video documentary will take a closer look at the brutal murders of four university students in 2022 in Idaho, America.
Told by those involved and affected by the crime, the series will explore the impact and fallout of the killings.
One Night In Idaho will stream from July 11.
Kelly's voice is paused
The Voice UK has hit the pause button with this year's series now being delayed until 2026.
Insiders say that the ITV singing show – which has just signed up Kelly Rowland to join the judges panel – will make its comeback in January, instead of its traditional autumn slot.
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The Voice UK has been delayed until 2026 – with Kelly Rowland joining the judging panel for its big return
Credit: Getty
Judges Sir Tom Jones, Will.I.Am and McFly's Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones will return alongside new girl Kelly, who previously appeared on The Voice Australia and coached on The X Factor.
She replaces singer LeAnn Rimes, who left her role as mentor on the show to focus on her US career.
She has headed over to the American version of the format alongside Sheryl Crow.
It's Good Morning Olivia
Olivia Attwood has a lot to celebrate at the moment.
Her ITVX show The Price Of Perfection is riding high in the ratings – and it's now been revealed she will be joining the This Morning family.
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Olivia Attwood is joining the This Morning team as a summer stand-in after the success of her ITVX doc series
Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
The Love Island star launched the second series of her cosmetic industry documentary last week, with an impressive 300,000 streams just hours after it dropped.
Now, she is set to be one of the stand-in summertime presenters on the ITV daytime show.
Joining Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley to discuss her new doc series, Olivia said: 'I have news, it's very exciting, I'll be joining the hosting team.
'I'm going to be doing a couple of shows in the summer. It's a huge honour.
'Being part of the Daytime team with the Loose Women has been the best experience and this just feels like a very natural progression of that.'
This Morning airs weekdays on ITV from 10am.
The Discovery Channel is marking its 40th birthday with a four-part docuseries investigating how its shows have sparked viewers' passions.
Discovery Changed My Life follows a wildlife cinematographer, hiking guide and adventure organiser inspired by the channel. Airing on Discovery+.
Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme - Sun Club.