ITV’s Rhys Jones Drama to Film at Goodison Park

LONDON: ITV’s upcoming four-part drama Little Boy Blue will recreate the moment when the parents and brother of Rhys Jones lined up in front of the crowd at Goodison Park to pay tribute to the murdered 11-year-old schoolboy.

The drama is being written by BAFTA award-winning screenwriter and executive producer Jeff Pope It is produced with the full approval of parents Melanie and Steve Jones.  It will explore Melanie and Steve’s ordeal following Rhys’s murder as he made his way home to Croxteth Park across the Fir Tree pub car park following football practice.

A talented young footballer, Rhys had been devoted to Everton, his favorite football team in the Premiership. In the days following their son’s murder in August 2007, Melanie and Steve were supported by the manager, players and staff at Everton FC. The Goodison Park stadium held a one-minute tribute in memory of Rhys, and the scene will be depicted in the upcoming drama. Filming will take place at half time on Sunday, October 30, during Everton’s game with West Ham.

The drama is produced by Kwadjo Dajan (Cilla, The Widower) and directed by Paul Whittington (Cilla, The Widower, Mrs Biggs).

Melanie and Steve issued the following statement: “We wanted to get involved in this drama because we thought it was important for people to understand what really happened—how close Rhys’s murderer came to escaping justice, and how in the end the simple courage shown by some of those involved in these events, and their refusal to be intimidated, led to the conviction of Sean Mercer and others involved in Rhys’s murder. The part Merseyside Police and especially Detective Superintendent Dave Kelly played in this cannot be over-estimated. But beyond this we wanted to show the devastating effect the loss of our beloved son Rhys had on our family, and how the grieving process affected us long beyond the ‘closure’ of a guilty verdict. Though some may find what happened to us shocking we think it is right to tell the whole story.”