A tough and emotional show

THE murder of Rhys Jones will be fresh in people’s minds because of Little Boy Blue, the drama about the terrible events from 2007 that was on ITV last year.

Having sons myself, it has been hard and emotional to report on this programme.

I have boys of 16 and 12, so these kids are about the same age as my children. The other thing that will resonate with people watching this is gang violence. That is on all our doorsteps at the moment.

Rhys’ parents, Mel and Steve, have not done many interviews so it was such a privilege to speak to them about their son.

They have suffered the worst thing any parent could. They showed me photos of Rhys and shared memories of him. He is still alive in their hearts and memories.

We know a lot about this investigation but in this ITV programme we have access to undercover tapes. I think it still surprises people that life sentences don’t mean life.

Sean Mercer got life with a minimum 22 years and has served half that. As Mel and Steve say, the loss of their child means their life sentence will never end. PRESENTER Susanna