BBC commission documentary marking the centenary of votes for women

Sally Lindsay

The BBC based at MediaCityUK has commissioned a documentary marking the centenary of votes for women and exploring the city’s role in the story of suffrage.

Emmeline Pankhurst: Making of a Militant was made by independent producer Saffron Cherry TV working with TV production company Lion Eyes TV. Both companies are based in Manchester.

It is presented by former Coronation Street actor Sally Lindsay, who visited landmark locations across Manchester as she pieced together the story of the iconic suffragette leader’s life in the city.

Making of a Militant was commissioned by Aziz Rashid, head of regional and local programmes for the BBC in the North West of England and will be broadcast regionally on June 8 and nationally later in June.

He said: “We wanted to commission this documentary because it was the untold story of Emmeline and the programme makers felt passionately that the character of our region and city was what shaped her into being the leader of an army of women.

“It was important to own this Manchester story and to have it told by a Manchester company – and perfect that it will be see both on BBC One North West and nationally on BBC4.”

Making of a Militant was given a premiere screening in front of 400 guests at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Manchester Hotel. The hotel is on the site of the Free Trade Hall, which hosted the first public meetings about women’s suffrage in 1868.

Marketing Manchester is supporting Making of a Militant as part of its #RadicalManchester campaign to mark the centenary of votes for women and celebrate Manchester’s role as the birthplace of innovation and progress. The documentary is also being promoted on social media using the #BeMoreEmmeline.

Sheona Southern, Managing Director of Marketing Manchester, said: “Revealing fascinating detail about the life of suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst, Making of a Militant provides a timely reminder of Manchester’s role in the story of women’s suffrage.

“Commissioned and produced in Manchester, this documentary also highlights the wealth of TV production and broadcasting talent based in the city region.

“Visitors to modern Manchester can see many of the locations visited by Sally Lindsay during the production of this documentary for themselves. I strongly urge anyone with an interest in learning more about the story of women’s suffrage to come and discover Emmeline Pankhurst’s Manchester for themselves.”

With the help of Emmeline’s surviving relatives, including the suffragette leader’s great-granddaughter Dr Helen Pankhurst, the documentary sees Sally Lindsay dig deep into the archives to reveal her roots in radical Victorian Manchester.

She finds a city brimming with political activists – including Emmeline’s own family – where women set up the first meetings and societies demanding the vote, years before the suffragettes.

She finds out more about young Emmeline’s political heroines, and unearths amazing archive of a Manchester woman who voted in an election 50 years before the landmark act of 1918.

The Free Trade Hall premiere of Emmeline Pankhurst: The Making Of A Militant concluded with a Q&A session with Emmeline Pankhurst’s great-granddaughter, Dr Helen Pankhurst, Sally Lindsay, and producer/director Helen Tither.

Lindsay says that Manchester was ‘massively’ important in making Emmeline Pankhurst the iconic figure she is today and that it was a privilege to have been able to find out more about her life.

“I don’t know why we haven’t celebrated her more as a Mancunian hero before now actually,” she added. “I think maybe people have always associated her more with London and forgotten her Manchester roots – hopefully this film will put that right.

“Maybe it’s partly down to the Mancunian spirit – so many amazing things have happened here, like anti-slavery campaigns, the Peterloo Massacre, that I suppose as a city we take it for granted that all these radical things have happened here.

“Making this film though we really noticed that the tide was turning – with the centenary of some women getting the vote this year there is a definite interest in Emmeline and finding out more about her. And celebrating her on her home turf I think.”

Emmeline Pankhurst: The Making of a Militant will be shown on BBC One in the North West at 7.30pm on June 8 and nationally on BBC 4 and the BBC iPlayer in mid-June.

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