Beloved writer and BBC star Alex Wheatle has died aged 62.
The author, known as the “Brixton Bard”, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2023 and campaigned for awareness of the condition. His family have announced that he passed on Sunday (March 16), just over a week before the series of the BBC’s Crongton – adapted from his books – airs on Monday (March 24).
Alex’s family shared: “It is with great sadness we inform you that Alex Wheatle, our ‘Brixton Bard’, sadly passed away on Sunday 16th March 2025 after his fight with prostate cancer. Alex has 26 years of legacy for you all to continue and enjoy by reading his novels, watch again the self-titled episode Alex Wheatle from the Small Axe TV series and also watch the new upcoming Crongton TV series as he looks over us in spirit.”
They added: “Alex’s family would like to thank you all for your support over the years in his work and we ask that you respect our privacy during this difficult time.”
(Image: Adam Gerrard / Daily Express)
The upcoming BBC show Crongton will become a “loving tribute” to the author. Patricia Hidalgo, director of BBC children’s and education, said with the “blessing” of Wheatle’s family they will air the show as a “celebration of Alex’s incredible life and powerful stories that mean so much to so many young people”.
She also said: “We feel incredibly privileged to have worked with Alex on the adaptation of his award-winning Crongton Knights books, whose young characters leap off the page in their vibrant portrayals of the highs and lows of growing up in modern Britain.”
(Image: Adam Gerrard / Daily Express)
Alex was famously part of the 1981 Brixton riots, which saw him imprisoned – it inspired Sir Steve McQueen’s film Alex Wheatle as part of the anthology series Small Axe. Wheatle later spoke about the riots in the BBC programme Battle for Brixton in 2006, and wrote his fiction book East Of Acre Lane about them.
He wrote a series of books about life on London’s streets for young black men, including the Crongton series, which has been adapted for television. Alex’s Crongton books delve into life growing up on a council estate and dealing with gang warfare and other issues.
Author Dorothy Koomson, known for the novel and TV drama The Ice Cream Girls, took to Instagram and said she was “heartbroken” by Alex’s passing. She added: “He was a wonderful person and writer. A brilliant and empathetic human being. He leaves an incredible legacy. Lots of love to those who were closest to him. Rest in peace and glory, Alex.”
(Image: Adam Gerrard / Daily Express)
Sheyi Cole, the actor who played Alex in Small Axe, said he was “indebted” to Wheatle and that his “story became my story”. Actor Colin McFarlane, a fellow Prostate Cancer UK campaigner, said he was “shocked and saddened” by the news.
He said he “talked about the desperate need for a national screening programme” with Alex. “Prostate cancer is curable if it is diagnosed earlier, and one day I hope we can stop losing brilliant men like Alex to this disease,” he added.
Major book publisher Hachette Children’s Group said they were “incredibly saddened” to hear of Alex’s passing. In a tribute on Instagram, they said he “leaves behind a legacy of rich and powerful” stories.
Alex was awarded the MBE for services to literature in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2008. His 2016 book Crongton Knights, the first in the Crongton series, won the 50th Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize.
Upon receiving his honour in 2008, Wheatle said: “I know some people might say the MBE’s got ’empire’ on it, but there is no British empire any more. But more importantly, it shows young kids coming up that they can achieve and you can be successful.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
