Anthony Walker: BBC drama part of his legacy, mother says

Anthony Walker was chased into a park in Huyton, Merseyside, and killed in 2005

A drama about a student murdered in a racist killing shows "the harsh reality of pain of loss", his mother says.

Anthony Walker, 18, was attacked with an ice axe in Merseyside in a killing that shocked the nation.

The BBC One drama, titled Anthony, tells the story of what his life could have been like if he had not been the victim of the racist attack in 2005.

His mother Gee hopes dramatising it for TV will become "part of Anthony's legacy - to honour him".

"It's one of the most painful things I've done since losing Anthony, but I think it was important for the story to be told," she said.

Gee Walker set up a charity in her son's name to tackle racism

Mrs Walker approached writer Jimmy McGovern with the idea to show "Anthony's unfilled dreams, his potentials and the many lives he would have impacted on".

"I've always thought to myself there's nothing entertaining about grief and pain of loss," she said.

"I want him to show the harsh reality of pain of loss and I couldn't think of anyone better to express it than Jimmy."

Anthony died after he was chased from a bus stop in Huyton, Knowsley, before being struck with the ice axe.

His killers Michael Barton, then 17, and Paul Taylor, then 20, are both serving life sentences for murder.

Toheeb Jimoh plays Anthony Walker in the BBC One drama

"Racism's a disease because what it does is it kills, it destroys. This is my last-ditch attempt to get the message across," said Mrs Walker.

"Stop. Stop it. It's killing. It's a disease and you're perpetrating that."

Anthony is on BBC One at 20:30 BST, then on BBC iPlayer.