The heartbreaking true story of the murder of Stephen Lawrence plays out on screen tonight, with his parents Doreen and Neville seen fighting for justice for their son.
Stephen was brutally murdered in Eltham, south-east London in 1993, when he was just 18 years old.
The new ITV drama, called Stephen, takes place 13 years after the murder, and is a sequel to the 1999 film The Murder of Stephen Lawrence.
It centres around Doreen and Neville’s fight for the police to reopen the investigation and address the racist corruption that stopped the original trial from being successful.
What happened to Stephen Lawrence?
Stephen was stabbed while waiting for a bus in a racially-motivated murder in 1993.
After attending school as normal, Stephen went shopping in Lewisham, before going to his uncle’s house in Grove Park.
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He was joined by his friend Duwayne Brooks and they left together at 10pm.
At 10.25pm, Stephen went to see if the bus was coming, leaving Duwayne at the bus stop.
At around 10.38pm, Duwayne saw five or six white youths approach Stephen, quickly engulfing him.
They forced him to the ground and stabbed him twice, severing arteries and perforating a lung.
Duwayne ran for help and urged Stephen to do the same.
He collapsed after running 120 metres and was pronounced dead as a result of his injuries at 11.05pm.
Who was Stephen Lawrence’s friend? What’s he doing now?
The boys went to school together and were best friends.
Brooks, who is now 46, experienced serious post-traumatic stress as a result of the attack.
He sought damages from the police – a claim which was thrown out – after he said he was treated as a suspect and not a witness.
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Brooks also sued the Met Police and was awarded £100,000 in compensation.
In 2009, he became a Liberal Democrats councillor and had various attempts at running for Mayor of London.
In 2015 he was awarded an OBE for his public and political service, before he shifted parties to the Conservatives in 2018.
Speaking years after the murder, Duwayne admitted he has never spoken to Stephen’s parents about what happened that night.
He told The Mirror: “How do you say that to someone’s parents? How do you tell them what happened to their son, without being able to say you tried to save his life?”
Are Doreen and Neville Lawrence still married?
After the death of their son, Doreen and Neville Lawrence fought tirelessly for justice.
They accused the police of institutional racism and Doreen – now 68 – prompted reforms of the police service.
She also founded the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust.
Doreen was awarded an OBE for services to community relations and made a life peer in 2003.
She’s now a Baroness and serves as a working peer in the House of Lords for the Labour Party.
Born in Jamaica, she emigrated to England when she was nine and went on to work in a bank.
In 1972, she married Neville, now 79.
However, in the years after Stephen’s murder, his parents divorced.
Why did the parents of Stephen Lawrence divorce?
Speaking about the break up of their 28-year marriage in 1999, Doreen said it wasn’t due to the aftermath of her son’s murder.
In a statement, she said: “For many years I have felt alone and unsupported. The most difficult year of my personal life since the death of my son was at the inquest which I had to face alone.
“I have not sought fame or notoriety.
“I would like people to understand that the divorce is not due to any pressure from the death of my son or the legal proceedings we embarked upon in the last six years.”
Neville was also born in Jamaica, coming to England and working initially as a handyman and decorator.
Opening up about their marriage split, he has said: “Our world began falling apart from the moment the hospital staff told us our son had died.
“For some reason that I have tried to understand, and can’t, we couldn’t reach out to each other.
“We stayed together for another six years, but from that day we never physically touched each other again.”
Like Doreen, Neville is also a human rights campaigner.
He too has an OBE and a doctorate in law. It was awarded to him by Portsmouth University in recognition of his justice campaign and work to promote racial harmony.
He has since moved back to Jamaica and is thought to live close to his son’s grave.
Did Stephen Lawrence have siblings?
Stephen was the eldest of three children born to Doreen and Neville.
Stephen’s brother Stuart was born in 1977 and his sister Georgina was born in 1982.
Doreen has said that her two children try not to dwell on their brother’s murder.
Although she added that it has affected their lives “more than anyone can ever know”.
She said: “They’ve got their own families now. So, like we all do, they try to move forward and make the best of what they have. But those moments are always there, you can’t get rid of them.”
Why is he buried in Jamaica?
Stephen was laid to rest in a remote location in the rural highlands of Jamaica, his mother has previously revealed.
His parents chose to bury Stephen alongside his great-grandmother in a secluded spot near where Doreen Lawrence used to play as as a child.
Who stars as Stephen’s parents Doreen and Neville Lawrence in ITV’s Stephen?
Sharlene Whyte plays Doreen, while Holby City’s Hugh Quarshie plays Neville.
Steve Coogan appears as Clive Driscoll, the lead detective on the case.
Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio is one of the executive producers.
Stephen starts tonight (August 30) on ITV at 9pm.
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