Who makes up the cast of the BBC’s Anthony?

Walker will be portrayed by Toheeb Jimoh in the drama, while his mother will be played by Rakie Ayola. Further casting includes Julia Brown, Bobby Schofield, Stephanie Hyam, Shaniqua Okwok, Robinah Kironde, Dominique Moore, Ade Ajibade, Wesley Bozonga, Phina Oruche and Siobhan McSweeney.

What have people said about the BBC’s Anthony so far?

Gee, who says reading the scripted version of her son’s imagined future had her “in bits”, says: “As a parent who has lost a child, you never stop thinking: what they might have been like because, for me, Anthony will always be 18 years old. I started to think: how might he have turned out? And that’s how it came about – I could actually see how my son turned out.”

Jimoh, who plays Walker, added: “Anthony’s story is a painfully tragic one but it’s also full of hope, joy, promise and love. Jimmy’s script captures that perfectly. I hope this film will serve as a tribute to Anthony and I feel truly honoured to have been asked to play him.”

And Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, said: “When commissioning drama linked to real life, we consider carefully the individual lives at the heart of the drama but also the wider societal story it might tell. Anthony is a case in point.

“A unique blend of fiction and reality, steered by Jimmy McGovern’s conversations with Anthony’s mother Gee Walker, it is the story of a young man who tragically lost his life but also of a life he might have led. We are honoured to be telling it on BBC One.”

Anthony: BBC drama about racist murder of Anthony Walker makes for vital viewing