SOUTHPORT stabbing suspect Axel Rudakubana appeared in a BBC Children In Need promo video aged 11, newly uncovered footage has revealed.
The now 17-year-old appeared in court yesterday charged with murdering three young girls at a dance studio in a horror knife attack on Monday.
Southport stabbing suspect Axel Rudakubana[/caption]
A court sketch of Rudakubana following his appearance yesterday[/caption]
Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, were killed in the horror knife attack in Southport on Monday.
Rudakubana is also accused of ten attempted murders, including those of eight more children.
The now 17-year-old starred as Doctor Who for a BBC Children in Need promo video in 2018, the Mail reports.
In the now-deleted clip, Rudakubana emerged from a Tardis wearing a brown trench coat and tie.
He told viewers “It’s that time of year again” before urging kids to dress up as Doctor Who to raise money for Children in Need.
Rudakubana, then aged 11, was at the time on the books of Ology Kids Casting based in the Lancashire market town of Ormskirk.
The promo vid is understood to have been shot on location in nearby Blackpool in early 2018.
In the clip, Rudakubana also told viewers: “You can run from John O’Groats to Land’s End – backwards.”
The BBC and Ology Kids Casting both deleted the video today after Rudakubana appeared in court.
Ology Kids Casting has also deleted a series of Facebook posts about Rudakubana.
One post read: “Look out for Ology superstar Axel in the new promo for Children In Need!”
BBC Children in Need said: “Our deepest sympathies go out to everyone impacted by this shocking case.
“We have removed the video from all of our platforms out of respect to them.”
It is understood Axel Rudakubana was contracted by the BBC for the campaign video through a casting agency and has never had a relationship to the broadcaster.
The BBC and Ology Kids Casting have been contacted for comment.
SUSPECT IN COURT
Rudakubana was named for the first time yesterday after a judge lifted reporting restrictions just days before his 18th birthday.
The prosecution said he had an “autism spectrum disorder diagnosis” and had been “unwilling to leave the house and communicate with family for a period of time”.
Usually, any defendants aged under 18 are entitled to anonymity but Judge Andrew Menary KC declined to make such an order to conceal his identity.
He instead announced Rudakubana could be named after hearing legal submissions – telling the court that not doing so would allow others to “spread misinformation”.
He said: “Whilst I accept it is exceptional given his age, principally because he is 18 in six days’ time, I do not make an order under section 45.
“Continuing to prevent the full reporting has the disadvantage of allowing others to spread misinformation, in a vacuum.”
Rudakubana, who lives in Banks, Lancashire, but is from Cardiff originally, was remanded into custody until October 25.
No plea was entered but a provisional trial date, lasting six weeks, was scheduled for January 20.
The teen earlier appeared at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court where he smiled as entered the dock.
Rudakubana then covered his face using the sleeve from his grey prison-issue tracksuit in the dock.
It can now be revealed that Rudakubana was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents.
He has an older brother, who was also born in the Welsh capital, according to reports.
Rudakubana moved to Banks, a village in Lancashire located a few miles from Southport, in 2013.
Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, was killed in the Southport attack[/caption]
