With a police investigation and public inquiry examining how and why it happened, Reggie takes a step back to ask who were those people before they became victims of one of Britain’s deadliest fire.
His journey begins at the memorial wall near the base of the tower. It is a community shrine plastered with the faces of missing people. He begins to piece together some of the stories of those commemorated and as the weeks go on, more of them are officially confirmed dead, until the final death toll stands at seventy-one.
Through families and friends Reggie learns about some of the individuals who lost their lives: a young British Moroccan, Yasin El-Wahabi, who was believed to have run back into the tower to save his family; a Filipino woman, Ligaya Moore, whose niece arrives in London to get answers about how her aunt died; a Syrian man, Omar Alhaj Ali, who escaped war with his brother only to see him die in the fire; Tony Disson, a well-known local figure whose family had lived in the area for generations; a 12 year old girl, Jessica Urbano Ramirez, who was one of 18 children to lose their lives.
As a Londoner, and having grown up on a council estate himself, Reggie discovers that these stories aren’t just the stories of individuals, they are the story of a community.
‘A necessary portrait of the victims as individuals’ – The Telegraph ****
BBC TWO – 1 x 60’
Executive Produced By Colin Barr
Produced By Lila Allen
Directed By Dan Child