Yinka Bokinni documentary “Damilola: The Boy Next Door” to air on Channel Four: Exclusive Video interview here

To mark the 20th anniversary of Damilola Taylor’s violent murder on the North Peckham Estate, Channel 4 has commissioned 1×60 mins documentary from Acme Films. This poignant and reflective film is presented by Yinka Bokinni DJ, radio presenter, writer and former resident of the estate and childhood friend of Damilola. The horrendous and lonely death of ten-year-old Damilola Taylor in the dank stairwell of an estate in Peckham in November 2000 stunned the nation. It seemed to encapsulate a nation mired in moral crisis and a society that was fundamentally broken.

In the aftermath of Damilola’s death, the estate was demolished and the families dispersed. Now, twenty years on, Yinka Bokinni explores the devastating impact Damilola’s death had on her community, her area, and the lives of almost everyone she knew, confronting for the first time the impact of a tragic event which the children from the area have never felt able to discuss.

In this film, Yinka will attempt to reconcile the two versions of her past and try to understand how the warm, loving and happy community she remembers so fondly from her childhood was presented in the media as a crime-ridden “sink estate” that was somehow to blame for the tragic loss of a young life Yinka is a South London native her love for music lead her to pursue other dreams and she successfully landed herself the presenting role on Rinse FM’s Breakfast Show in 2015. With her infectious energy, Yinka built up a loyal fan base at Rinse and in 2016, secured a prime role presenting a daily show on one of the UK’s biggest radio stations, Capital XTRA. Yinka’s popularity and distinctive voice lead her on to delivering the stations evening show and after three years has proved hugely popular with listeners and made a big impact on the UK’s leading hip-hop, grim and R&B station. This lead to her securing her dream slot, the weekday breakfast show.

The “notorious” North Peckham Estate, once hailed as the finest estate in the whole of Europe had been shorthand for gangs, drugs and violence since the 1980s. But there was another side to life there. For the families who lived there, the North Peckham Estate was home to a warm and loving community. The documentary airs on Channel 4 at 9pm on the 28th of October.