Southport murderer Axel Rudakubana grew up as a budding child star actor – attending a branch of a drama school founded by Pauline Quirke before featuring in a BBC Children In Need video.
The teenager who this week admitted killing three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class was previously a pupil at the Southport branch of the Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts.
The PQA was set up by the Birds Of A Feather actress in 2007 and now has a network of about 250 academies as well as more than 15,000 students across Britain.
Rudakubana was pictured in 2017 receiving his drama branch’s ‘performer of the week’ award, in an image shared on Facebook.
At the same time, Rudakubana was also part of a local youth drama group through which he performed on a West End show at central London’s Shaftesbury Theatre.
The drama group also created ‘their own movie’ which was reportedly shown at a Vue cinema where the children were walked down a red carpet.
And in 2018, as exclusively revealed by Mail Online, he was filmed emerging from the Tardis in Doctor Who actor David Tennant’s trademark trenchcoat and tie – before urging the nation to help children by getting involved in fundraising.
That came in a BBC Children in Need clip after he was billed as a ‘superstar’ by a talent agency run by a former Premier League footballer’s wife.
Birds Of A Feather actress Pauline Quirke, pictured after receiving her MBE award at Windsor Castle in 2023, set up her first drama academy school in 2007
Axel Rudakubana, who this week pleaded guilty to murdering three girls at a dance class last year, was pictured in 2017 with an award at his drama academy branch in Southport
He featured in 2018 in a Doctor Who-themed video for BBC’s Children In Need
Rudakubana, of Banks, Lancashire, pleaded guilty on Monday at Liverpool Crown Court to 16 offences, including three counts of murder – his police mugshot was then released
Ology Kids Casting based in Ormskirk, Lancashire – close to Southport – is co-run by Laura Beckford, wife of former Everton footballer Jermaine Beckford, and her older brother Andrew.
The 45-second video is understood to have been shot on location in nearby Blackpool in early 2018.
In it, Rudakubana tells viewers, ‘It’s that time of year again’, before advising on how best to raise money for Children In Need including dressing ‘as every Doctor Who ever’.
Ology has declined to comment, but managers are understood to have been ‘very upset’ at learning of the association.
The agency last summer deleted a series of Facebook posts about Axel’s budding acting career, including one that said: ‘Look out for Ology superstar Axel in the new promo for Children In Need!!’
Meanwhile, BBC sources have stressed that Rudakubana never had any ‘affiliation’ with Children in Need projects, saying last August: ‘Children in Need has no relationship to Axel Rudakubana.
‘The individual was contracted by the BBC for the campaign video through a casting agency in 2018 and has never had an affiliation with any of our funded projects.’
A BBC Children in Need spokesperson said: ‘Our deepest sympathies go out to everyone impacted by this shocking case, and we have removed the video from all of our platforms out of respect to them.’
The victims killed by Axel Rudakubana were (pictured left to right) Bebe King, six, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine
Court artist drawing by Elizabeth Cook of Axel Rudakubana, 18, appearing by video-link from Belmarsh prison at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court last October
Read More
EXCLUSIVE
Revealed: How Southport stabbing suspect Axel Rudakubana starred as Doctor Who for BBC ad aged 11
Rudakubana, of Banks, Lancashire, pleaded guilty on Monday at Liverpool Crown Court to 16 offences, including three counts of murder.
Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, six-year-old Bebe King and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, died following the attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class at The Hart Space on a small business park in the seaside town shortly before midday on July 29, 2024.
Rudakubana, now 18 but aged 17 at the time of the attack, admitted the girls’ murders as well as the attempted murder of eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.
He also pleaded guilty to possession of a knife on the day of the attack, production of a biological toxin – ricin – on or before July 29, and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.
Rudakubana, born in Cardiff to parents who came to the UK from Rwanda in 2002, moved in 2013 to the Merseyside seaside resort of Southport where his father Alphonse worked as a taxi driver.
The family are said to be regular church-goers and his mother Laetitia appears to be a practising Christian with a white dove and various entries for evangelical ministers on a Facebook page in her name, while his father is a keen exponent of karate. Rudakubana’s family have been rehoused since the killings and are in hiding.
Meanwhile, Pauline Quirke’s husband Steve Sheen revealed on Monday that she is to ‘step away from all commercial and professional duties,’ following a dementia diagnosis in 2021.
Rudakubana, a former stage school star, featured in a BBC Children in Need advert at 11
Rudakubana is seen in another shot of the Children in Need advert – six years before his killing spree in Southport
Rudakubana (pictured as a boy) was billed as a ‘superstar’ by a talent agency during his younger days as a budding child actor
Pictured is where Rudakubana’s horror killing spree took place, as he stabbed young children to death while they danced at Hart Space
Read More
Pauline Quirke, 65, has been living with dementia for FOUR years after learning of diagnosis aged 61
The 65-year-old actress’s last public appearance saw her proudly receiving an MBE at Windsor Castle in February 2023.
As well as her role in the comedy Birds Of A Feather, Pauline also had roles in Emmerdale, Broadchurch and a BAFTA-nominated performance in The Sculptress.
In a statement revealing her diagnosis for the first time, her husband said: ‘It is with a heavy heart that I announce my wife Pauline’s decision to step back from all professional and commercial duties due to her diagnosis of Dementia in 2021.
‘Pauline has been an inspiration through her work in the film and TV industry, her charity endeavours and as the founder of the very successful Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts (PQA).
‘Her talent, dedication, and vision have touched countless lives and will continue to do so through the legacy of her work and through PQA where her vision and guidance has facilitated many young peoples’ progression and interest in the Arts and enhanced their self-confidence.
‘Pauline is perhaps best known as Sharon Theodopolopodous from Birds of a Feather, the hilarious sitcom that ran for nearly 30 years.
‘In drama, her BAFTA-nominated role in The Sculptress, was outstanding, as was her role as the mysterious Susan Wright in ITV’s Broadchurch.
‘Demonstrating her acting versatility, she also starred or appeared in more than 60 TV and film productions, including Carrie’s War, North and South, Casualty, Cold Blood, Thieving Headmistress, My Family, You, Me and the Apocalypse, and of course Emmerdale.
Pauline Quirke, 65, pictured with her husband Steve Sheen, has been living with dementia for four years after learning of her diagnosis aged 61 in 2021, it was revealed this week
Read More
Lorraine Kelly pays tribute to 'brilliant woman' Pauline Quirke amid dementia diagnosis
‘In 2022, Pauline was awarded an MBE in the late Queen’s final Birthday Honours. It was a heartfelt recognition of her incredible work with young people, her contributions to entertainment, and her dedication to charitable causes.
‘Her acting career has now come to a close, but Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts (PQA), with its network of approximately 250 academies and over 15,000 students across the UK, remains robust and will continue to operate as normal in accordance with Pauline’s ideology.
‘Our experienced senior leadership team will maintain the Academies’ success and growth, building on the foundations, ethos and philosophy that Pauline has inspired from the beginning in 2007.;
The Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts declined to comment on Rudakubana beyond confirming he did attend as a pupil as a 10-year-old, they had no record of any inappropriate behaviour reports and they had nothing to do with the BBC Children In Need video which took place about a year after he left.