documentary

A BAFTA winner broke the fourth wall during the awards’ ceremony to ask BBC bosses if they would cut footage of Gaza: Doctors Under Attack winning the prize for best film about current affairs

A BAFTA winner took aim at the BBC during the ceremony after a documentary about Gaza triumphed at the prestigious television awards ceremony.

The current affairs film Gaza: Doctors Under Attack picked up a major prize at the BAFTA Television Awards tonight (Sunday, 10 May). But the moment quickly turned political when executive producer Ben De Pear used his acceptance speech to question the broadcaster that originally commissioned the programme.

The one-off documentary, which features testimonies from Palestinian healthcare workers and documents attacks on medical facilities in Gaza, was initially commissioned by the BBC before being shelved over impartiality concerns. It was later broadcast by Channel 4 instead.

When he took to the stage after the film won in the current affairs category, Ben thanked the journalists involved in making the documentary before addressing the BBC directly.

He fired his parting shot, asking: “Finally, just a question for the BBC: given you dropped our film, will you drop us from the Bafta screening later tonight?”

BBC One was responsible for the TV coverage of the BAFTA Awards night, but did not air the ceremony live. The reception of each award was broadcast to the public around two hours after the actual events took place.

Ben was joined on stage by journalist Ramita Navia, who delivered a powerful speech about the findings of the investigation featured in the film.

He shared: ” Israel has killed over 47,000 children and women in Gaza. So far, Israel has bombed and targeted every single one of Gaza’s hospitals.

“It’s killed over 1,700 Palestinian doctors and health care workers. It has imprisoned over 400 in what the UN now calls the medicide. These are the findings of our investigation that the BBC paid for but refused to show.

“But we refuse to be silenced and censored. We thank Channel 4 for showing this film. Right now, there are over 80 Palestinian doctors and healthcare workers being held in detention centres that Israeli human rights groups describe as torture camps. We dedicate this award to them.”

The documentary was originally commissioned over a year ago by the BBC via their independent production company Basement Films.

However, the broadcaster delayed its release while an internal review into a separate Gaza-related programme was carried out. After that review process, the corporation ultimately decided not to air the film.

At the time, the BBC said it had concerns the programme could create “a perception of partiality that would not meet the high standards that the public rightly expect”.

The corporation also confirmed that production on the documentary had been paused while the review was was being conducted. Despite dropping the programme, the BBC said it remained committed to reporting on the conflict.

In a statement previously issued by the BBC, the broadcaster said it was “committed to covering the conflict in Gaza and has produced powerful coverage”.

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Good Morning Britain star Richard Madeley is to head inside one of the world’s most controversial prison’s for an eye-opening Channel 5 documentary

Richard Madeley is switching the comfort of the Good Morning Britain sofa for the grey walls of prison for a new documentary. The presenter will also head over to Channel 5 for the documentary as he takes on a huge new project.

The feature-length documentary titled Richard Madeley On Murder Row has been commissioned and is set to air later this year. The programme will offer up a rare peek inside one of the world’s most controversial prisons.

The 69-year-old star will head to Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT). The vast maximum security prison has become the cornerstone of El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s war on gangs.

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Richard will be given access to the full site. It’s said the rare offer “took months to negotiate”, with the presenter also taking in how life really is inside the detention centre.

The GMB presenter will speak to inmates at the facility as they live under the strict regime. And he will also chat with guards who set the harsh rules to try to keep the felons under control.

Away from the institute, Richard will visit the tough urban areas that surround it and are home o a number of violent gangs. He will find out exactly what the effects of the CECOT being on their doorstep has had.

Speaking of the opportunity, Richard said: “‘I was genuinely thrilled to be asked to front this film for 5. It’s not every day you’re given the chance to step inside a place as extraordinary and talked about as CECOT.”

He went on: “What struck me straight away was the sheer scale of it, and the stories behind it. In meeting the people who run the prison and those living inside it, what unfolds is a fascinating and often surprising look at justice, security, and the human realities behind the headlines. It’s been a remarkable experience.”

Guy Davies, Consultant Editor for Commissioning 5, said: “This access to CECOT was a tantalising prospect. Richard is, at heart, a first-class popular journalist and we were thrilled to get the chance for him to serve some time there. I think viewers will be very surprised by the results.”

And Andy Dunn, Senior Executive Producer, ITN Productions, added: “Gaining access to CECOT, the most secretive and notorious prison in the world, took months of negotiation. It was really important for Richard to experience the extreme conditions there first hand, and he takes us on a compelling and unique journey as he considers the effectiveness and ethics of such a harsh regime.”

Last year, it was revealed Donald Trump had sent 250 gang members to what has been labelled the “world’s worst prison”. The maximum security mega-prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador has seen hundreds of immigrants being sent from the US by the Trump administration.

Tens of thousands of prisoners have been locked up on bare metal bunks in the prison. They often don’t have a mattress and conditions have been described as inhumane. Cells have two toilets and a basin which are open with no privacy while there are no windows and they are watched by guards from holes in the mesh ceiling.

The conditions are unlike anything seen in the UK system as the inmates take their cramped space on the metal bunks.

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The trailer for Kylie Minogue’s new Netflix documentary has finally launched, leaving fans emotional over the singer’s journey

Fans have reacted with delight to a trailer for the new Netflix series about Kylie Minogue, in which she shares her own home movies and personal photographs for the first time. She is also seen close to tears talking about her cancer battle saying: “I was so scared of what was ahead of me.”

The actress and singer, 57, who allowed the cameras to follow her for a three-part documentary, teases at the start of the trailer: “They’re convincing me to let you in.”

One fan gushed: “She is everything that is right with the world, an inspiration, an icon.” While another agreed: “I’ve been a fan since she was in Neighbours and followed her ever since. This will be an emotional journey for all her true fans, can’t wait!”

The “intimate” films, released on May 20, will show how she has successfully reinvented herself many times, selling 80 million records along the way. There are clips of the Aussie soap star turned pop princess winning a Grammy and being chased down the street by fans shouting, “I love you Kylie.”

Talking about being photographed and filmed, she says: “I love the feeling around the shot. That feeling of freedom. I hate being boxed in.” And of her long and recording career, she declares: “Life makes sense to me on stage.” Hinting that she is a long way from hanging up her microphone, she adds: “I don’t know where we’re going. There’s certainly no end.”

In other clips she is seen laughing in black and white snaps with her former lover Michael Hutchence and also hanging out with Jason Donovan, her co-star in Neighbours.

In one clip from British TV, former daytime favourite Anne Diamond is seen asking her, in a slightly snippy tone: “When you started out, did you mean to be an actor or a singer?”

She admits to feeling “frustrated” by headlines labelling her the “singing budgie” and calling her “awful”, “mechanistic”, “talentless” and “terrible”. One scene shows her with her head in her hands on the edge of the stage as someone enquires” “How are you feeling? But in other moment, looking very happy, she declares: “I can’t actually speak just yet.”

Of her battle with breast cancer 21 years ago in 2005, when she was 36, Kylie admits: “I was so scared of what was ahead of me… f***!” Younger sister Dannii battles tears as she says: “We didn’t know if she was ever going to be well again. But I just wanted to be with my sister. Music kept us going.” One shocked fan reacted: “Almost 40 years in and the first time I’ve heard her swear! She is pure perfection.”

The pals that share their thoughts include Donovan, singer Nick Cave and hit-maker Pete Waterman, who put her on the path to superstardom all those years ago. Cave, her close friend with whom she recorded Where the Wild Roses Grow in 1995, explains: “Kylie is this force. It’s all outward. Giving.”

The films, from BAFTA Award-winner Michael Harte, will attempt to show viewers the woman behind the hits, focusing on “how she has faced public scrutiny, personal loss and illness with grit and grace”.

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Fans of documentaries packed with twists and turns are being urged to give this one a go

Documentary fans are being urged to watch a “stranger than fiction” film that is often ignored.

Three Identical Strangers was one of the top suggestions offered after a Redditor asked for “blow your socks off” documentaries to watch that were not widely known about.

The BAFTA-nominated film, which has a run time of just over an hour and a half, tells the story of triplets – Bobby Shafran, Eddy Galland and David Kellman – who were separated at birth. They were not told that they were triplets and so knew nothing about each other.

In an incredible twist of fate, the trio find themselves crossing paths with each other as young adults in the eighties, purely coincidentally. The amazing story catapults them to celebrity status and they live together, make movie cameos and start their own business, but as they dig deeper into their past, they discover a horrifying truth that changes their lives forever.

“I’m looking for documentaries and I love all types except for murder mystery because they’re typically all the same,” the original Reddit post began. “Could you guys suggest a few documentaries that completely caught you by surprise and you always recommend it to people because of that?”

Under the suggestion of Three Identical Strangers, one person remarked: “I remember this documentary. It made me so angry. But, producers did a great job telling the story.”

“Yess this is one I would typically scroll past but wow it was definitely one of the best,” admitted one viewer who gave it a shot. A third fan added that the story told in the film “felt impossible.”

While it is no longer available on Netflix, the film – described by many as ‘dark’ – can currently be viewed on YouTube, Apple TV and Prime Video for a small fee. Boasting a 96 per cent critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 88 per cent from audiences, the viewer consensus seems to be that it is a worthwhile watch for any documentary fan.

“Starting as a fascinating curiosity, the movie takes a dramatic and breath-taking turn to expose a much more unsettling story. Really great documentary,” another viewer said, rating it five stars.

“Classic case of reality being far stranger than fiction. Watch this and you’ll be rewarded (if that’s the proper way of putting it) with a story so wild you’d think it’s made up. Yet this is a documentary,” said yet another bowled over viewer.

Three Identical Strangers is currently available to watch on YouTube, Apple TV and Prime Video for an additional fee.