Actor Jessica Barden (The End of the F***ing World, Dune: Prophecy) will bring to life extracts from letters, interviews and Victoria Wood’s own personal archive in specially filmed scenes combining readings with dramatisation in the upcoming feature length documentary Becoming Victoria Wood.
Alongside Jessica’s readings are testimony and reflection from school and university friends plus famous faces including Dawn French & Jennifer Saunders, Maxine Peake, Joan Armatrading, Jasper Carrott and Michael Ball, who all discuss their memories of Victoria Wood nearly ten years after her passing.
The film will be out in cinemas on 9th January, before airing on U&Gold in February. Becoming Victoria Wood is produced by Rogan Scotland, in association with Phil McIntyre Television and distributed by Dartmouth Films.
The film will explore rarely seen archive material and previously unheard audio recordings, to paint a vivid portrait of the woman behind the fame.
Among the unearthed treasures are her beloved scrapbooks, Victoria’s first-ever recorded performance from 1973, behind-the-scenes footage from stage and screen, unheard interviews with Victoria and intimate audio diaries recorded during the making of dinnerladies – candid, confessional entries that reveal the unfiltered Victoria: thoughtful, biting, vulnerable, and funny. From Wood and Walters to As Seen on TV, Pat and Margaret to dinnerladies, the documentary carefully threads her most iconic work into her personal story, highlighting how her lived experience shaped the characters and worlds she created.
Becoming Victoria Wood will air in February on U&Gold, following a nationwide theatrical release on 9th January.
Picture credit: Ricky Darko/UKTV
Pippa Considine
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