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BY BILLY SUTER
A FOUR-PART drama, Little Boy Blue, based on a true story that shocked a nation – a child’s murder amid a wave of gang violence – is to be seen on DStv’s ITV Choice (channel 123) at 8pm on Wednesday, May 17.
The drama is from Bafta-winning writer and executive producer Jeff Pope. It tells of how, in August 2007, while walking home from football practice, 11-year-old Rhys Jones was unwittingly caught in the crossfire of a gang war. Shot in the neck outside the Fir Tree pub in Liverpool, he died in his mother’s arms.
Made with the support of Rhys’s parents, Melanie and Steve, Little Boy Blue explores the family’s ordeal and looks at the agonising dilemmas of witnesses faced with becoming pariahs for speaking up.
The drama, starring Sonny Beyga and Sinead Keenan, tells the story of the long and extensive investigation, led by Merseyside Police SIO David Kelly that eventually brought Rhys’s murderer and his associates to justice.
Also on ITV Choice is the fourth season of the popular Line of Duty.
In the episode scheduled for 8pm on Thursday, May 18, DCI Roz Huntley captures a serial killer, and Forensic Coordinator Tim Ifield alerts AC-12 to a possible miscarriage of justice.
Set in the fictional police anti-corruption unit AC-12, Line of Duty is a cat-and-mouse thriller that takes a probing look into modern policing and corruption.
The winner of a Royal Television Society Award for best drama series, this show is a must-watch.
Martin Compston resumes his on-screen role of anti-terrorism officer DS Steve Arnott and is joined by returning stars Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar, who play DS Kate Fleming and SI Hastings respectively.
Maya Sondhi is also back after her five-episode stint in series three. She is joined by new recruit Royce Pierreson, who plays DC Jamie Desford. An exciting new member of the cast is Bafta Award-winning and Zimbabwean-born Thandie Newton (Westworld), who will play DCI Roz Huntley. (See separate interview with Newton on this site, under ‘Television’).
Note, too, that season five of Judge Rinder returns to ITV Choice on weekdays at 6.30pm, starting on Monday, May 15.
Exes fighting for custody of the dog, neighbours at war over the garden fence and a bride suing a wedding photographer for ruining her big day – it’s all in a day’s work for The Judge.
With his razor-sharp mind, witty remarks and legal expertise, Judge Rinder rules the courtroom in his own unique way.
Each case is filled with heartache and rage, but with cool logic, Judge Rinder hears the evidence and delivers his verdict with characteristic wit.
The Judge’s decision is final and while cameras catch the shocked or delighted reactions of claimants and defendants, the court moves on to the next dramatic case.
.....SoSuterBill..... 