EastEnders have announced a special episode to commemorate the funeral of tragic knife victim Shakil Kazemi.
In a statement released late last night (Wednesday 20 June), the BBC soap revealed they will run true-life stories alongside the burial of the fictional character.
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The tragic storyline aimed to tackle the disturbing issue of knife crime in the UK.
Shakil was stabbed to death in upsetting scenes shown last month.
He will soon be buried in a special episode that breaks soap tradition, by combining it with real-life accounts from those who have lost someone to knife crime.
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It’s a first for EastEnders and Executive Consultant John Yorke explained why it’s so important.
He said: “From the very beginning we were determined to treat the difficult subject of knife crime in a responsible, non-sensationalist way.
“We started out with detailed research, and the more stories we heard the more we felt other people should hear them too.
“The episode gradually evolved into something unique for EastEnders – real families telling their own devastating stories alongside our own characters.”
He went on to say: “We’ve tried to find a way to do justice to an incredibly difficult, tragic and emotive subject, and with huge help from the families of real life victims and the support groups they work with, we hope we’ve come some way to getting that enormity across.”
As well as the special episode, BBC Three will delve deeper into the issues associated with the subject of knife crime.
The channel will produce multiple short films to give viewers a further insight into the lives of some of the families involved with the special EastEnders episode.
Damian Kavanagh Controller, BBC Three says: “BBC Three has a strong track record of handling issues relevant to young people in a sensitive way.
“We’re pleased that we’re able to collaborate with EastEnders to produce additional material to support this storyline that will allow both the BBC Three and EastEnders audience gain a deeper engagement with an important subject.”
NEWS: #EastEnders to air special episode with true life element for the funeral of Shakil Kazemi.
Get the full story over on our FB page: https://t.co/Ai3lu5FLQE pic.twitter.com/LZjSg2G9Ky
— BBC EastEnders (@bbceastenders) June 20, 2018
Shakil was targeted by a gang of thugs as the rest of Walford celebrated the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
The storyline was written with the help of former EastEnders star Brooke Kinsella, whose own brother was stabbed to death in 2008.
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