Tim Edwards and John May launched the film in Merseyside on Thursday
21:34, 26 Jun 2025Updated 21:35, 26 Jun 2025
John May(left ), and Tim Edwards at The Two of Us premiere(Image: Andrew Teebay/Liverpool ECHO)
Families united by grief came together to remember those they have lost to horrific crime on the streets of Merseyside. Tim Edwards’s daughter, Elle Edwards, 26, was murdered in a shooting outside the Lighthouse pub in Wallasey Village in December 2022.
Just days after her murder, her grieving dad, 53, got in touch with Liverpool actor John May, who was preparing to walk from Lands End to John O’Groats as part of a campaign to end gun and knife crime. Mr Edwards joined him for the walk at Worcester, initially just to “get out of town”, but ended up accompanying him all the way to the top of Scotland, later travelling down south to complete the first leg of the walk.
Two years on from their challenge, a documentary called “The Two Of Us” has been screened at the Raindance Film Festival and is now being shown to family, friends and well known people from across Merseyside at The Light cinema in New Brighton.
Some of the people attending include those who have lost children to gun and knife crime on the streets of Liverpool and Wirral, with Chery Korbel, mother of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, Julie Dale, mother of Ashley Dale, Joanne Rimmer, mother of Sam Rimmer, Carolynn Cox, mother of Ellis Cox, and Michael Rainsford, father of Michael Rainsford Jr.
Speaking earlier tonight before the premiere at 8pm, Tim told the ECHO: “This is special because it’s with the people who were involved in the making of the film, friends, family, and this is where Elle was brought up. This was her stomping ground. It was only right that we had it here.
“We could have gone into town which would have been great, but this is special.”
Speaking about having the victims of crime there alongside him and his family, he continued: “It’s the old cliché of being part of a club you never wanted to be in, but the fact of the matter is that’s how it is. We’ve all lost loved ones to gun crime or knife crime.
Paddy Bennett (centre),with John May (left) and Tim Edwards at The Two of Us premiere(Image: Andrew Teebay/Liverpool ECHO)
“You get the same feeling when you meet other families who are going through the same thing; they’re the only ones who understand how you feel. You’re amongst your own, but at the same time it gives you that sense of relief because you’re not alone. It’s the best of a bad situation. We all support each other, and we’re all there for each other.”
Other guests at the premiere included former Liverpool player Sammy Lee and G’Wed actors Dylan Thomas-Smith and Max Ainsworth.
Speaking earlier this month about the film, Mr Edwards said: “Mr Edwards said: “You’ll see that when times get really tough, as long as you keep going and you keep having that little bit of hope and a bit of strength behind you and the willingness to carry on and never give up, then you will come out alright on the other side.”
He took on the walk before the trial of gunman Connor Chapman, who was targeting rivals in a gang feud when he opened fire outside the pub and was sentenced to a minimum of 48 years after being found guilty of Ms Edwards’ murder.
Mr Edwards said walking with Mr May helped him to build a foundation for his future.
He said: “I’ve been through the worst hell you can imagine; there’s not a lot else that could really turn me. I can cope with the day-to-day now through those experiences of walking with John and walking through the country and being alone and having therapy and talking about your feelings.”
Mr May, 43, who produced the feature-length documentary, said he hoped people would be inspired.
The actor, soon to star as Wayne Rooney in a production at Liverpool’s Royal Court, said: “The documentary is not really about the walk, it’s more about friendship and about men’s mental health and grief and how we leaned on each other and perked each other up throughout the walk.
“It’s about brotherhood more than anything, I’d say.”
The film, put together from vlogs filmed by the pair at the time and interviews once they had returned, shows the highs and lows of the journey – which at one point saw them separating for 10 days after a falling out.
Mr Edwards said his daughter, a beautician, would be “laughing her head off” to see what he had been doing. He said: “She’d be thinking ‘my dad is absolutely mental, what are you doing?’
For Mr Edwards, the documentary is part of his aim to create a positive legacy for his daughter.
He said: “It was always about keeping Elle’s name alive. So whenever Elle’s name was mentioned, it would be mentioned in a positive way and not about what happened to her. That was the goal and still is, it will always be the goal.”