Key Sentence:
- The brother of a man who died in Hillsborough said he took a “double shot” when Maxine Peake playfellow campaigner Ann Williams while filming.
Steve Kelly’s older brother, Michael, was one of the 97 Liverpool fans who died on 15 April 1989 after a terrace was breached. Mr. Kelly was consulted on the new ITV drama and continued to set at Anfield. She said: “It looked like Anne was there – I was so emotional, and Maxine came over to see if I was okay.”
“She’s beautiful, and she won’t start filming until I’m okay,” he added. Award-winning actress Ms. Peake plays Anne Williams in the ITV drama Anne, which is set to premiere next year. Ms. Williams died in 2013 at the age of 60 after suing her 15-year-old son Kevin and other disaster victims for more than 20 years.
Mr. Kelly met Ms. Peake while filming the scene where Andy Burnham, then-Secretary of State, was mutilated at the Hillsborough Memorial Service in 2009. “Kelly captured Anne perfectly. She reminded me of some of the best people who helped us in our campaign. She understood why we were fighting. Kelly had a real social conscience,” he said.
Mr. Kelly added, “I was told I could watch the finished series, but I wanted to wait while it airs on TV so I can get ready to watch it.” During an investigation in 1991, the jury heard that 95 fans died at 3:15 p.m.
A statement Ms. Williams, and therefore refused to accept his son’s death certificate from the coroner.
His request for a new investigation was initially rejected by the Attorney General and the European Court of Human Rights, but following the publication of the Hillsborough Independent Panel report, another appeal to overturn the ruling was upheld.
Pictured, Steve Kelly meeting Maxine Peake while filming the drama
Recalling the last time he saw Anne Williams, Steve Kelly said, “I was at the Hillsborough Justice Campaign Store when I was told he wanted to see me. It didn’t look good, but he said to me, “Could you please take a cigar out of my pocket?” “
“I found this tobacco with the Jamaican flag and a marijuana plant on it, and he said. It’s not what you think.’ There were some rolled cigarettes in there. “I recently told this story to Maxine Peak, and she pulled something out of her pocket – the same can.