Before Grenfell: A Hidden History

Before Grenfell: A Hidden History -
(Image credit: BBC/Blast Films/Ryan McNamara)

How the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy exposed a huge wealth divide in North Kensington, one of the capital's richest boroughs

The Grenfell Tower fire killed 72 residents and shocked the nation.

But it also highlighted the huge gap between rich and poor in the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea, home to oligarchs, billionaires and celebrities, as well as estates with some of the highest levels of child poverty in Britain.

This film tells the story of the borough’s working-class community who have lived in the area for generations, dealing with disease-ridden slums, the Blitz, race riots and now the Grenfell tragedy.

Before Grenfell: A Hidden History - Allan Tyrrell was born in North Kensington in 1943.

Before Grenfell: A Hidden History - Allan Tyrrell was born in North Kensington in 1943.

It hears moving accounts from some of Grenfell’s residents, including Allan Tyrrell and Ishmael Francis Murray (top picture) who was born in Grenfell Tower in 1982, and reveals how the area has been divided since Victorian times, when lavish homes were first built next to one of the worst slums in London.

TV Times rating: ****

Mandy Cooper
TV Times Highlights Editor

As TV Times Highlights Editor I get to hear about all the latest TV shows coming soon. Here at TVT HQ we are in the privileged position of selecting the best programmes from across all the channels and streaming platforms. Our mission is to make it easier for our readers to decide what to watch - and give them lots of choice of genres - all the latest shows, plus some nostalgic choices we call hidden gems, too. My career began with a postgraduate degree in periodical journalism (ahem, yes old school!) in 1991 and I’ve worked in TV media since 2000.