EastEnders to tackle knife crime and youth gangs in new storyline involving the Taylors and the Kazemis

EastEnders are planning to tackle knife crime and youth gangs in an upcoming storyline set for Spring.

In a storyline due to air later this Spring, the Kazemis and the Taylors after both Shakil and Keegan are attacked.

Played by Shaheen Jafargholi and Zack Morris respectively, the teens will take centre stage in the sensitive scenes.

The plot will show viewers the wide-reaching impact of knife crime, not just on those involved but on the local community as everybody reels from what has happened on their own doorstep.

The BBC soap are working with Brooke Kinsella MBE, the former EastEnders actress who started the Ben Kinsella Trust after Ben, her brother, was fatally stabbed in June 2008.

Of the storyline, Kinsella said: “I commend the EastEnders team for choosing this storyline to portray the realities of knife crime. With knife crime on the increase it is vitally important that we help people understand its lasting impact.

“Carrying a knife won’t protect you, it won’t give you status, harming or stabbing someone isn’t a trivial act. It simply destroys lives forever. We need to do more to help people understand this, especially young people.”

The actress - who starred in the long-running soap as Kelly Taylor from 2001 to 2004 - concluded: “I believe that this storyline will bring home the realities of knife crime to a wider audience and show how it damages the lives of victims, offenders, their families and friends forever.”

Executive Consultant John Yorke added: “EastEnders has a long tradition of tackling serious public issues, and this is one of the most important the show has ever embarked on.

“The episodes are powerful, heart breaking and dramatic, and we hope will help both carry on Brooke’s inspiring message - while making it clear that knife crime destroys the lives of everyone it touches.”

EastEnders airs Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays on BBC One.