Don't put me on a pedestal

In an extraordinary act of bravery, civil servant Darryn Frost used a narwhal tusk to help subdue an Islamic terrorist who had slaughtered two innocents. Seven years on, the modest hero is still haunted by the incident

- By Sue Crawford

Darryn Frost, main, set up a charity to help newly released prisoners after stopping terrorist with a tusk, below Sculptor Nick Elphick wanted to portray Nick at the heart of his bravery

INVITED to be the subject of a sculpture to mark his bravery during the 2019 London Bridge terror attack, Darryn Frost had just one request — not to portray him as a hero. Darryn famously used a 6ft-long narwhal whale tusk to fend off the jihadist attacker.

His courageous actions, along with others who joined him, undoubtedly saved many lives that day. But while most people would consider Darryn deserves to be honoured, the former civil servant feels very differently.

“I would have hated it if the sculpture was heroic,” he says frankly.

“If it had been some marble bust with posed grandeur going: ‘look at me, aren’t I great?’ that would have been the opposite of me. It was the saddest day of my life.”

Darryn was approached by the BBC to take part in their series Extraordinary Portraits with Bill Bailey, which pairs participants with some of the country’s most talented portrait artists. The aim is to create artwork that captures their journey, sparking emotional conversations.

Yet Darryn was initially sceptical.

“I was flattered, but I cringed,” he confesses. “Why would I want a sculpture of me? I’m just an average person.

“That was an incident on a single day and I don’t want that to define who I am. But then I thought - it happened and there is so much positive stuff that has happened since.”

Darryn’s life changed irrevocably in November 2019, when he was invited to attend a prisoner education and rehabilitation event in Fishmongers’ Hall, a historic building adjacent to London Bridge.