Idris Elba is hoping to provide seven underprivileged boxers with stability, structure and a chance at victory for his new BBC Two documentary series, Idris Elba’s Fight School.
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“Living and training together over six intense months in London, the school recruits will battle it out against other amateurs and work towards a big showcase finale,” Deadline’s show synopsis reads.
The site reports that the four-part docuseries is presented through Elba’s production company Green Door Pictures and the producer of his Quibi series Elba vs. Block, Workerbee. Elba hopes that in the aftermath of the series, there will be an “ongoing presence” to provide resources, education and support for young people in urban areas and underserved communities.
“I see history constantly repeating itself and can empathize with these kids,” Elba tells Deadline about Fight School’s significance. “I believe there is a better way to teach people that you don’t need knives to protect yourself. It’s a proven fact that in urban areas where fight schools open, violent crime drops dramatically—which is why I wanted to do this project, in hope that we can change people’s lives.”
Not only will the budding boxers be trained by former champions in Fight School, but they will also be mentored by Elba, who is no stranger to the ring.
The actor chronicled his novice boxing experiences during his 2017 docuseries, Idris Elba: Fighter. In an interview with Singapore’s The Straits Times during this period, he said that the series was meant to be a “personal journey” for him. The culmination of his efforts resulted in a victory at York Hall over professional fighter Lionel Graves, however, he told New Zealand’s Stuff Magazine in 2017 that it was no easy feat.
“When you’re training for a fight, you take more losses than you take wins,” he explains, before noting that he has a back injury that made training and fighting more strenuous. “You have to do 60 rounds before you win two rounds…So a lot of the time, I was taking hits and being beaten and it didn’t feel good.”
Idris Elba’s Fight School is reportedly in the pre-production stages, and no release date has been announced as of now.
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