Knife crime is a burgeoning concern in the UK, so much so that BBC One's new show, Stabbed: Britain's Knife Crime Crisis, which will air on Thursday night at 9pm, will look at the worrying rise of attacks. The network describes the problem as "one of the biggest challenges facing the country". In the show, Duwayne Brooks will meet victims' families as well as learn why more people are turning to knife crime, and how it can be prevented. Duwayne isn't the only one hoping to make change, as other famous names affected by these heinous acts over the years have also turned to campaigning and raising awareness. Read more about famous faces who have been affected by knife crime...
Brooke Kinsella
The former EastEnders actress has been campaigning against knife crime over the last ten years following the tragic death of her younger brother, Ben, who was stabbed and killed while on a night out celebrating the end of his GCSEs. He was just 16. Brooke posted a tribute in 2018 to mark the ten-year anniversary of his passing, writing: "Ten years on from losing our beautiful Ben I'd hoped so much we would be able to say that things have changed and our streets are safer. My heart breaks at how far away that still seems. I am sad and I am scared."
READ: Brooke Kinsella pays touching tribute to brother ten years after his tragic death
Last year she also began a new campaign, 'Ten for Ben', which encourages schoolchildren to do ten nice things for one another. Speaking about paying tribute to him in this way, she wrote: "I cannot believe it's been almost ten years since we saw your beautiful face and heard that cheeky laugh. We will carry on your legacy for as long as we can Benjamina... We are asking school children across the nation to do ten acts of kindness in Ben's name and will be holding many special events and tributes for him. Always loved, never ever forgotten."
Graham Norton
The popular chat show host has previously opened up about being stabbed and "left for dead" after being mugged over 25 years ago while he was a drama student. He said: "It was very serious. It was a mugging, I didn’t even realise I’d been stabbed in that classic way, because your adrenaline is pumping. I looked down, and I saw all this blood. I lost a bit over half my blood. So it was very touch and go, I think." Speaking on Katie Couric's podcast, he said: "They hit me over the head with a thing, it sounded like a bit of plastic piping, but actually, it was a wooden thing, and the plastic piping was actually the noise your skull makes when you’re being hit. They ransacked through my bag and left me on the pavement and ran off, so I watched them go and thought, 'I'll get up now.' But when I went to get up I felt like I was peeling myself off the ground, which was odd but when I looked down, I was just soaked with blood."
© Photo: Getty ImagesAlex Beresford
Good Morning Britain's weatherman Alex tragically lost his cousin, Nathan Armstrong, in March 2019. Speaking about his loss on the breakfast show, he said: "It's a big surprise that it's happened to Nathaniel because he's 29, he's not in a gang... he went to a university... I guess on the outside some people could have been intimidating but he wasn't that person. He was a big, friendly giant." Alex also paid a heartbreaking tribute to Nathan, writing on Twitter: "Nobody wins, everybody loses!" Just a few days before the terrible attack, Alex had passionately spoken about knife crime on GMB, stating that environments fundamentally needed to be changed.
© Photo: Getty ImagesElizabeth Hurley
Actress Elizabeth Hurley revealed that her nephew, 21-year-old Miles Hurley, was stabbed in March 2018 in a road rage incident. Luckily Miles has recovered from the attack, and the mother-of-one shared a photo of herself with him on incident in the months following the incident, writing: "Thanking God today that my nephew Miles is with us for Easter today. His wound is still oozing blood but he’s alive & we’re thankful. The knifemen who stabbed him are still roaming around London. Perhaps around your loved ones. Happy Easter."
© Photo: Getty ImagesLinda Robson
Loose Women panellist Linda was also deeply affected by Ben Kinsella's death, as her teenage son Louis was good friends with him and was with him on the day of the attack. Speaking on the panel show, she said: "They went out to celebrate their GCSEs and he never came back again. When it happened, the boys all separated and Louis went back to Ben and was holding him when the ambulance came there." Speaking to the Mirror, she also said: "That night was probably the biggest shock I’ve ever had. There was no rhyme nor reason for it. He was a student, a perfect son. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was home and I got a call from Mark. He’d found Louis on the floor with Ben in his arms. It was unbelievable."
Tam Dean Burn
Outlander actor Tam was attacked by a stranger while on his way to a football match in Edinburgh back in early March. Tam Dean Burn, who played Alastair in season one of the hit period drama. Although he went to hospital, the actor is now in recovery, and updated fans on Twitter to let them know he was doing well, writing: "Thanks for all the messages of support folks. I'm fine honest & when it says I'm resting that's not the actors euphemism so going to take a break from here." Fellow Outlander actor Colin McFarlane sent his support on Twitter, writing: "Glad to hear you are doing well @tamdeanburn. Don't think I've seen you since Coriolanus all those years ago, so when I saw your name & then saw you had been stabbed I was like WTF, had to do a triple take."
