New BBC Two documentary from Expectation Factual explores the lives of some of Grenfell Tower’s hidden victims, fronted by filmmaker and broadcaster Reggie Yates.

To be shown in 2018, Reggie Yates: Searching For Grenfell’s Hidden Victims (w/t) goes behind the headlines on a personal mission to unearth the human stories of the many residents whose lives were lost in the fire and about whom so very little is known.

Amid the aftermath that followed the Grenfell Tower fire - calls for justice, claims of conspiracy, accusations of social apartheid it’s easy to forget that there is still so much we don’t know about many of those that died, who they were and how they lived before the fire. Reggie’s detailed search into these lives will give BBC Two audience a new and very personal perspective on this national tragedy

With at least 20 victims who are only known by name, and the Coroner’s Court reporting on the cause of death for 'unidentified adult males' every week, Reggie will use every tool available to him - phone records, Skype and social media as well as official records - to track down information, and follow the trail of evidence wherever it takes him to discover more about the lost victims of one of the most horrific tragedies in recent London history.

Reggie hopes to piece together the human stories behind the tragedy, putting an individual identity and face to the names and piecing together complex truths about some of those lives. The film will shine a light on the economic and cultural forces that continues to push people out of their homes and pull so many to London.

Reggie Yates says: “I grew up in an estate like Lancaster West to parents who had moved to the UK from Ghana, so I understand what it means to live in a community like that. And I understand the lazy preconceptions that sometimes exist. They are not places of decay and hopelessness, they are places of hope and energy and ambition. That’s the spirit I want to capture by uncovering the stories of those who lived there.”

Patrick Holland, Controller, BBC Two, says: “Reggie has developed into a brilliant filmmaker with an exceptional ability to listen. The tragedy at Grenfell is a national scandal, but it is also the story of individual families. Reggie’s film will explore the lives of the people whose lives changed forever that night.”

Colin Barr, Creative Director, Expectation Factual and Factual Drama, says: “The horrific tragedy at Grenfell cast a long and dark shadow across the country. It dominated thoughts and conversations and yet we still know little about the people who lived in that vibrant community and lost their lives there. Reggie will bring an understanding and empathy to the subject which will honour the stories of those hidden victims."

Reggie Yates: Searching For Grenfell’s Hidden Victims (1x60') (w/t) will be broadcast on BBC Two in 2018 (TX tbc). It is made by Expectation Factual, and the Executive Producer is Colin Barr. The film was commissioned by Patrick Holland, Controller, BBC Two and Clare Sillery, Head of Commissioning, Documentaries.

Image Credit: Israel Peters