documentary

At a time of declining social mobility, especially for young people, watching Freddie Flintoff manage a cricket team made up entirely of working class boys from Preston still hits like a ray of hope.

By smashing the class ceiling of such an elitist sport, the former England captain is steadily teaching the boys to dream of better futures for themselves, and the rest of us the transformative power of some gentle encouragement.

The documentary series will focus on the building of her fashion and beauty empire, and the balancing act between running a family and a business simultaneously. The Beckhams, close friends, and collaborators will all feature as the doc builds a full image of Victoria’s time in the spotlight – from Spice Girl to style guru, from WAGs to riches.

The series is executive produced by Nicola Howson, known for Beckham and Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything.

Narrated by Welsh-drag icon Tayce (RuPaul’s Drag Race UK), Striking with Pride: United at the Coalface tells the story of the two seemingly disparate groups being drawn together through the miners’ strike of 1984-85.

The LSGM (Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners) formed when Mike Jackson and Mark Ashton decided to raise money for struggling families in the strike.

Intended for 16-34-year-olds, UNTOLD investigates contemporary subject matters which appeal to the younger generations. Past episodes include Only Fans Got Me Fired, The Truth About Spiking, and The Cost of Being a YouTuber. All episodes are available on the Channel 4 streaming service and are posted onto the Channel 4 Documentaries YouTube channel.

Known for traditionally ‘masculine’ roles such as EastEnders’ Mick Carter, Dyer will set his preconceptions aside to investigate all of changing gender roles, attitudes towards male mental health, and stereotypes surrounding masculinity.

The Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus, mental health experts, fitness fanatics, sex therapists, and male victims of domestic abuse will all be interviewed by Dyer through his candid questioning. Dyer will meet men who believe ‘traditional’ masculinity is under fire, then turn to those who are exploring more ‘progressive’ options.

The show follows the professional and social lives of the junior midwives in Basildon University Hospital. Thanks to its exclusive access, the programme reveals what it takes to survive in one of the most demanding jobs in the country.

Midwives can qualify after three years, putting them amongst Britain’s youngest medical professionals. The Real Midwives of Essex sheds light on those who have recently qualified, as well as the student midwives, and the people teaching them.

Together, they deal with 12-hour shifts, early starts and nights out.

What Lisa [Squire] wanted was for us to get this message across: you should always report non-contact sexual offences. Because it does make a difference.” Candour Productions’ Anna Hall was speaking at an RTS Yorkshire event on 31 January – five years to the day that Squire’s daughter Libby was abducted, raped and murdered in Hull.

Just how this reporting makes a difference becomes clear during Humberside Police’s hunt for Libby’s killer, in Candour’s powerful Bafta-winning, three-part series Libby, Are You Home Yet?.

In spite of the righteous noise and well-intentioned initiatives launched by broadcasters, streamers and producers in recent years, two new reports indicate that, not only is the industry still a long way off from gender parity in creative roles, it is moving into reverse.

Creative Diversity Network’s six-year overview of Diamond data from 2016-17 to 2021-22 found that, among the “key creative and authorial roles of writer, director and producer/director... the gender gap is widening”. Female director contributions remain particularly low, having fallen from 26.9% to 25.3%.