Warning: The following article contains discussions of graphic violence that some viewers may prefer to avoid.
The poignant Little Boy Blue and lead actor Stephen Graham are continuing to impress viewers with their recreation of the real-life investigation into young Rhys Jones' murder.
Last week, the cracks started to show in the attempted cover-up of the 11-year-old's death. Rhys was tragically murdered when he unknowingly walked into a gangland shoot-out on his way home from football practice.
Now, Detective Superintendent Dave Kelly (Stephen Graham) has discovered that the murder weapon found in local teen Kevin Moody's (Michael Moran) home in fact belonged to hood Sean Mercer (Paddy Rowan) instead – bringing him ever closer to finding justice for the Jones family.
Just as the murder investigation was nearing a conclusion, Rhys Jones's parents – Mel (Sinead Keenan) and Steve (Brían F. O'Byrne) – were sadly struggling to cope with their grief and questioning if they could ever really move forward as a couple.
As these harrowing scenes unfolded, fans once again praised the ITV drama for its sensitive portrayal of the tragedy ahead of Monday's finale.
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Stephen Graham earns huge praise for playing the detective dedicated to bringing the Jones family the justice they deserve:
Portraying the grieving of the Jones family was obviously a tremendous responsibility for the cast of Little Boy Blue, as cast member Brían F. O'Byrne recently explained to Digital Spy at a pre-premiere screening.
"It's a job," he said. "The one thing on the set was, there was an incredible amount of respect in doing it, and everyone was there to shoot the series for the three people [Rhys Jones and his parents Mel and Steve Jones] and they were in the forefront of everyone's minds."
Little Boy Blue will conclude next Monday night (May 15) at 9pm on ITV.
Readers affected by the issues raised in this story are encouraged to contact Samaritans free on 116 123 (www.samaritans.org) or Mind on 0300 123 3393 (www.mind.org.uk).
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Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
