Seasoned TV writer Jeff Pope”s latest ITV drama, Little Boy Blue, is due to film a segment at Everton FC”s ground, Goodison Park.

The drama, first detailed on Production Intelligence in August, centres on the tragic real-life events of August 2007 when 11-year-old Everton fan Rhys Jones was fatally shot on his way home from football practice.

The football ground scene will recreate the moment when Rhys” parents and brother lined up in front of the crowd to pay a one-minute tribute to the murdered schoolboy. Filming will take place at half-time during the game this Sunday, 30 October, between Everton and West Ham.

Rhys” parents, Melanie and Steve, said of the factual drama: “We wanted to get involved in this drama because we thought it was important for people to understand what really happened – how close Rhys’s murderer came to escaping justice, and how in the end the simple courage shown by some of those involved in these events, and their refusal to be intimidated, led to the conviction of Sean Mercer and others involved in Rhys’s murder.

“The part Merseyside Police and especially Detective Superintendent Dave Kelly played in this cannot be over-estimated. But beyond this we wanted to show the devastating effect the loss of our beloved son Rhys had on our family, and how the grieving process affected us long beyond the ‘closure’ of a guilty verdict. Though some may find what happened to us shocking we think it is right to tell the whole story.”

Kwadjo Dajan produces Little Boy Blue for ITV with Paul Whittington directing Pope”s script. Sinead Keenan and Brian F O”Byrne play Rhys” parents with Stephen Graham as SIO Dave Kelly, who led the murder investigation.