30 October 2024
Idris Elba is joining forces with King Charles for an upcoming BBC documentary about knife crime.
Idris Elba is joining forces with King Charles III for an upcoming BBC knife crime documentary
The ‘Luther’ star will discuss youth violence solutions with the monarch, 75, plus meet bereaved families, young offenders and police in BBC One's ‘Idris Elba: A Year of Knife Crime’.
He said: “So many people dismiss knife crime as something that doesn’t affect them, assuming it’s a black and brown urban and gang-related problem – but this couldn’t be further from the truth.
“White, middle class and rural areas are also affected, perpetrators are getting younger and fear is spreading.
“I hope our film goes some way towards changing these stereotypes and getting everyone to engage with one of the biggest challenges of our time. For me, it’s been a tough year – but I’m hopeful.”
The news comes as the 52-year-old actor has recently been working with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, 62, who will also feature in the fulm, in a bid to tackle the “root causes” of the issue.
The 60-minute documentary has been produced by Idris and Diene Petterle’s production company 22Summers, which created ‘Erased’ for Disney+ - a series that reveals the untold stories of soldiers of color in the war.
Idris faced a crossroads in his life as a teenager when growing up in what he describes as the “tough part” of east London – where violence was a possibility – he wants to understand why the issue is still persistent amid efforts to combat it.
Idris added: “I hope our film goes some way towards changing these stereotypes and getting everyone to engage with one of the biggest challenges of our time.”
Transmission details for ‘Idris Elba: A Year of Knife Crime’ will be confirmed at a later date.
English (US) ·