‘Leaving Neverland’ Filmmaker Dan Reed To Exec Produce Documentary On UK Summer Riots

Channel 4 has commissioned a documentary feature about this summer’s race riots in the UK from Leaving Neverland filmmaker Dan Reed.

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Reed will executive produce the project, which was announced this morning by Channel 4. The documentary will run 60 minutes and is produced by Amos Pictures for Channel 4. The Channel 4 commissioning editor is Anna Miralis.

Channel 4 said the documentary will “provide a forensic account of how riots erupted in England in the wake of the murder of three children in Southport” and will be told by police, rioters, and eyewitnesses.

“Channel 4 have been brilliantly quick off the mark again, giving us a licence to deep-dive into the riots and the political and cultural crisis that gripped our nation this summer,” Reed said in a statement this morning.

“Amos Pictures’ trademark forensic journalism and immersive cinematic storytelling will give Channel 4 audiences a full 360 view, revealing the key protagonists, the raw emotions, the political agendas driving the violence and the unfolding of the police and government response.”

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The summer riots took place in cities across the UK and lasted just under a week. The violence has broken out across the UK after the fatal stabbing of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport last week.

The unrest was initially fuelled by social media misinformation that the suspected assailant, Cardiff-born Axel Rudakubana, was an asylum seeker. Anger continued to be whipped up online, not least by X/Twitter owner Elon Musk, who had been critical of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and claimed that Britain is on the brink of civil war.

Miralis added this morning: “We are proud to commission this hard-hitting and timely documentary from Amos Pictures, whose track record for fearless, uncompromising storytelling is second to none. As we all reflect on, and try to make sense of, the horrendous scenes of bigoted violence that took place on our streets, this vital film will provide important context on what these events say about Britain today.”

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