First-look Images for BBC’s My Name Is Leon

The special one-off film is Shola Amoo’s first screenplay for television and directed by Lynette Linton, her directorial debut on a television drama and stars Sir Lenny Henry CBE (The Lord Of The Rings), Malachi Kirby (Small Axe), Monica Dolan (A Very English Scandal), Olivia Williams (Counterpart), Christopher Eccleston (The A Word), Poppy Lee Friar (In My Skin), Shobna Gulati (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie) and Cole Martin will play the lead, Leon, in his first TV role.

Set in 1980s Birmingham, this feature film tells the uplifting and incredibly moving story of nine year-old Leon, a mixed-race boy, and his quest to reunite his family after being taken into care and separated from his blonde and blue-eyed baby brother. Told through Leon’s eyes, we follow his journey, full of energy and hopefulness despite the hardships he encounters, and witness the touching relationship between him and his foster carer Maureen. With his favourite action figure Sergeant Smith by his side, Leon’s adventure teaches him valuable lessons about himself, the world, love, and what family, in its various guises, really means.

Set against the backdrop of the race riots in the 1980s, this tender and inspiring tale balances gritty realism with charm and gentle humour, exploring the issues of identity and belonging with both urgency and wit.

My Name Is Leon (1×90’) is made by Douglas Road Productions (a Banijay UK company) in association with Tiger Aspect Productions, Ringside Studios and Vicarious Productions. It is executive produced by Sir Lenny Henry and Angela Ferreira for Douglas Road Productions, Gub Neal and Edward Barlow for Ringside Studios, Mona Qureshi for the BBC and Pier Wilkie. Jyoti Fernandes is Script Executive. Carol Harding is producer for Vicarious Productions.

Ingenious Media provided funding alongside Lipsync Productions and Creative England through the West Midlands Production Fund using ERDF funding. 13 Films are handling international sales. Filming took place in and around Birmingham.