The murder of transgender teen Brianna Ghey is set to be explored in an ’emotional’ new ITV documentary.
The 16-year-old from Warrington was brutally stabbed to death in a Culcheth park in February 2023 by Scarlett Jenkinson, her so-called friend of just 10 weeks, and Eddie Ratcliffe, a boy she had never even met.
The shockingly horrific incident prompted widespread public condemnation, not just in the UK but across the world.
Since Brianna’s death, her mother Esther Ghey has become a campaigner for genuine change.
Now, in this powerful upcoming 75-minute documentary film – which currently has the working title of Brianna, and is set to have its air date announced in due course – Brianna’s mother speaks in depth for the first time about her “beautiful daughter” and how the devastating loss has driven her campaign work.
ADVERTISEMENT
Esther Ghey, featuring in the upcoming ITV documentary Brianna / Credit: ITV
The programme will feature exclusive interviews with friends and family, plus murder detectives who will reveal for the first time how they quickly built up their case to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Cheshire Police has given ITV exclusive access to their investigation for the documentary, including evidence and custody suite interviews with the two killers.
ADVERTISEMENT
The documentary isn’t just about her tragic death though, it’s also about her life.
Brianna’s upbringing in Warrington will be explored through interviews with her close friends, who have never spoken before, where they speak for the first time about the “wonderful” and “amazing” person Brianna was, as well as her trans journey.
Brianna Ghey was brutally murdered back in February 2023 / Credit: Cheshire Police
In more ‘deeply personal’ conversations, Esther also discusses her ongoing campaign to make the UK safer for children, including her calling for a public inquiry into peer-on-peer violence, why it’s on the rise, and what can be done to stop it from escalating further amid the growing mental health crisis among young people.
ADVERTISEMENT
She also used the documentary to look at whether the impact of social media is making children harm themselves or others.
“I took part in this amazing documentary as a way to ensure that my family’s story was told truthfully, and people could get to know Brianna the way we did,” Esther commented ahead of the show’s release later this year.
“The statistics are shocking. I hope that this documentary contributes to the push for our children’s welfare, online and offline.”
Featured Image – Cheshire Police
News
Beloved Manchester artist Stanley Chow slams Conservative Party for using his artwork
Daisy Jackson
Celebrated local artist Stanley Chow has lashed out at the Conservative Party.
The illustrator, who is famed for his cartoon portraits of famous faces, has discovered that the political party have been using his Andy Burnham illustration at their party conference.
Publicly addressing the usage, Stanley said he would be ‘seeking legal advice’.
He shared a photo of his Andy Burnham portrait that has been placed onto a water bottle with the slogan ‘Bottler Burnham’.
The label also says: “0% strength. Bottled under pressure from Badenoch.”
In another photo, Stanley Chow revealed that the Tory party conference has used his Andy Burnham portrait on pots of sweets, too.
This time, they say: “Andy Panders’ people pleaser pick n mix. Free sweets for everyone, it will only cost you higher taxes.”
Stanley wrote: “It seems like @conservatives have been using my artwork without my permission at their conference party…
“Regardless of whatever your political allegiances are, it’s still copyright infringement… I’ll be seeking legal advice.”
Backing him up in the comments are a number of other local artists, including Mancsy, who said: “As well as the copyright infringement, I expect more of political parties than making gags at the expense of the opposition. It’s alarming on multiple levels.”
Someone else wrote: “Imagine calling a prime minister a people pleaser like it’s an insult… when it’s their job.”
Another person said: “How does that even happen?! Layers of people signing off who go, ‘Sure, let’s not worry about copyright’ (people who’ve presumably never step foot in MCR and seen your artwork, like EVERYWHERE). Drag em, babe. Copyright and reputation, surely.”
Manchester man jailed after sexually assaulting and masturbating in front of woman on train
Emily Sergeant
A man has been jailed after sexually assaulting and masturbating in front of a woman on board a train to Manchester.
Following an extensive British Transport Police (BTP) investigation, Nisan Fernando Kurukulasuriya, of Troutbeck Road in Altrincham, was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court last month.
At the trail last month, the court heard how, on Monday 20 April 2026, 39-year-old Kurukulasuriya was on a train from Stoke to Manchester and sat next to a woman he didn’t know, who was on the phone.
He then sexually assaulted her repeatedly, doing so again even after being pushed away by the woman.
The woman then noticed that Kurukulasuriya had exposed himself and was masturbating in front of her. She shouted at him, and in response, he stood up and ran away to leave the train – but the woman immediately got up to report the incident to staff.
When the train arrived at Manchester Piccadilly, the woman alerted a member of staff while Kurukulasuriya was stood only a few meters away, and BTP were subsequently called straight away.
Police quickly attended and arrested Kurukulasuriya.
When police interviewed him, Kurukulasuriya showed no remorse for his actions and refused to answer any questions put to him.
After pleading guilty to Sexual Assault and Outraging Public Decency at a previous court hearing, Kurukulasuriya was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment, and was also handed a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) which will bar him from sitting next to any woman he doesn’t know on public transport, as well as being put on thensex offenders register for 10 years.
BTP Detective Sergeant, Mark Haviland, called Kurukulasuriya a ‘despicable man’ who targeted a woman travelling alone ‘for his own sick sexual gratification’.
Emily Sergeant -
5th March 2025 
