Heart-wrenching BBC crime drama Responsible Child is set to be released on Netflix this week. The one-off film originally aired in 2019, and follows a young boy who is put on trial for murder.

While no longer available on BBC iPlayer, the near-90 minute project will drop on Netflix from this Friday.

Responsible Child is billed as being “based on real events”, though is a fictional story, focusing on 12-year-old Ray as he witnesses an axe attack on his older brother Nathan by his mother’s partner, Scott. However, when Scott is acquitted and returns to live in the home, life deteriorates.

“One night, when the boys hear that Scott has threatened to get the axe again, the brothers carry out an attack on Scott, brutally murdering him,” the synopsis adds.

“After the murder, the brothers are arrested and charged with Scott’s murder. Nathan and Ray are separated as they enter the judicial system and meet their respective legal teams.”

Ray is placed in a foster home due to his age and status as a ‘looked after child’ while he awaits trial in an adult court, as the age of criminal responsibility is 10 in the UK, while his defence team “argue that Ray lost control on the night of the attack and should be convicted of manslaughter rather than murder”.

“As the trial begins, they discover that Nathan’s defence team have decided that Nathan should not testify, leaving Ray alone to take the stand and give evidence in his own defence,” the synopsis adds.

Blinded by the Light‘s Billy Barratt stars as Ray, and became the youngest winner of an International Emmy for his performance, while the movie also won the TV Movie/Mini-Series award.

Game of Thrones‘ Michelle Fairley, Strike‘s Tom Burke and The History Boys‘ Stephen Campbell Moore co-star, while the film was written by Skins‘ Sean Buckley and directed by The Murder Trial‘s Nick Holt.

“Responsible Child raises one of the most complex and challenging questions of our time,” Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, previously said.

“Nick and Sean’s extraordinary film explores the age of criminal responsibility in England and takes us to the heart of the legal question: in the most severe of cases, ‘should a child be tried as an adult or child?’ We are hugely indebted to them for the sensitive, nuanced and empathetic approach to telling this harrowing true story on BBC Two.”

Responsible Child will stream on Netflix from Friday.