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Three Girls (TV series)

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Three Girls
GenreTrue crime
Written byNicole Taylor
Directed byPhilippa Lowthorpe
StarringMaxine Peake
Lesley Sharp
Molly Windsor
Ria Zmitrowicz
Liv Hill
Ace Bhatti
Paul Kaye
Jill Halfpenny
Bo Bragason
Lisa Riley
ComposerNatalie Holt
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes3 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersLucy Richer
Hilary Salmon
Susan Hogg
ProducerSimon Lewis
CinematographyMatt Gray BSC
EditorÚna Ní Dhonghaíle
Running time60 minutes
Production companiesBBC Studios
Studio Lambert
Original release
NetworkBBC One
Release16 May (2017-05-16) –
18 May 2017 (2017-05-18)

Three Girls is a three-part British television drama series written by Nicole Taylor and directed by Philippa Lowthorpe. It was broadcast on three consecutive nights between 16 and 18 May 2017 on BBC One.[1] A co-production between BBC Studios and Studio Lambert, the series is a dramatised version of the events surrounding the Rochdale child sex abuse ring, and describes how the authorities failed to investigate allegations of rape because the victims were perceived as unreliable witnesses, and the local authorities didn’t investigate through fear of being accused of racism because of the ethnicity of the perpetrators.[2]

Three Girls drew a strong viewing audience upon its first broadcast, with 8.24 million viewers for episode one, 7.88 million for episode two and 8.19 million for episode three.[3] The series was released on DVD in Region 2 on 8 January 2018.[4]

A BBC documentary on the case, The Betrayed Girls, was broadcast on 3 July 2017 as a follow-up to the drama.[5]

Plot

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The story is told from the viewpoint of three of the victims: fourteen-year-old Holly Winshaw (Molly Windsor), sixteen-year-old Amber Bowen (Ria Zmitrowicz) and her younger sister Ruby (Liv Hill); although the focus later shifts to sexual health worker Sara Rowbotham (Maxine Peake), the main whistleblower who drew attention to the case after repeated pleas for help from social services and the police fell on deaf ears.

DC Margaret Oliver (Lesley Sharp), the lead investigator on the case, manages to gain the support of her superior officer, Sandy Guthrie (Jason Hughes) to instigate a full-blown investigation. However, despite significant evidence, the CPS decided to drop the case because of an “unrealistic prospect of conviction”. After Margaret convinces Amber Bowen to testify against her former boyfriend, Tariq (Wasim Zakir), the case is re-opened by recently appointed public prosecutor Nazir Afzal (Ace Bhatti), who with the assistance of the police and the victims involved, manages to secure convictions against ten men involved in the ring.[6]

Rowbotham, Oliver and Afzal all acted as consultants on the series.[7]

Cast

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Episodes

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Episode Title Written by Directed by Viewers
(millions)[8]
Original airdate
1"Episode 1"Nicole TaylorPhilippa Lowthorpe8.2416 May 2017 (2017-05-16)
2"Episode 2"Nicole TaylorPhilippa Lowthorpe7.8817 May 2017 (2017-05-17)
3"Episode 3"Nicole TaylorPhilippa Lowthorpe8.1918 May 2017 (2017-05-18)


Filming

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The three part drama was filmed from June to August 2016 in Bristol and released from 16th to 18th May 2017. As for filming locations, the council offices on Temple Street doubled as Liverpool Crown Court, whilst Bristol Register Office was used for interior community meeting scenes. Filming also took place in Victoria Park, Eastville Park and streets in Hartcliffe, Knowle, Easton, Bedminster and Redcliffe.

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In June 2017, a terrorist attack was launched against mosque-goers in Finsbury Park. The attacker, Darren Osborne, used a van to run over Muslim pedestrians, killing one man and injuring several others. In the course of the trial, it was remarked that Osborne developed an obsession with Muslims after watching Three Girls.[9]

Reception

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Accolades

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Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2017 WFTV Awards The Deluxe Director Award Philippa Lowthorpe Won [10]
Festival de la Fiction TV Awards [fr] Jury Special Prize for European Fiction [fr] Three Girls Won
Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards Director - Drama Philippa Lowthorpe Nominated [11]
Editing - Drama Úna Ní Dhonghaíle Won
Music - Original Score Natalie Holt Nominated
Photography - Drama & Comedy Matt Gray Won
2018 British Academy Television Awards Best Mini-Series Three Girls Won [12]
Best Actress Molly Windsor Won
Best Supporting Actress Liv Hill Nominated
British Academy Television Craft Awards Best Director: Fiction Philippa Lowthorpe Won [13]
Best Writer: Drama Nicole Tyler Won
Best Editing: Fiction Úna Ní Dhonghaíle Won
Irish Film & Television Awards Editing Úna Ní Dhonghaíle Won [14]
RTS Programme Awards - West of England Best Television Drama Three Girls Won [15]
Best Director Drama Philippa Lowthorpe Won
Royal Television Society Programme Awards Mini-Series Three Girls Won [16]
Writer Award - Drama Nicole Taylor Won
Breakthrough Award - On Screen Molly Windsor Nominated
Broadcasting Press Guild Best Single Drama/Mini-series Three Girls Won [17]
UK Broadcast Awards Best Drama Series or Serial Three Girls Won [18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Lara Martin; James Rodger (23 May 2017). "BBC drama Three Girls: What happened to the sex abuse victims". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  2. ^ "Three Girls: who is Sara Rowbotham? The sexual health worker behind the uncovering of the Rochdale child-abuse scandal". The Telegraph. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  3. ^ "Weekly top 30 programmes - BARB". www.barb.co.uk.
  4. ^ "Three Girls". Amazon UK. 8 January 2018.
  5. ^ "The Betrayed Girls: Five things we learned about the Rochdale grooming scandal from BBC documentary". The Manchester Evening News. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  6. ^ Homa Khaleeli (16 May 2017). "Molly Windsor, star of Rochdale abuse drama Three Girls: 'It made me really angry'". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  7. ^ "Three Girls (TV Mini-Series 2017)". IMDb.
  8. ^ "Top 30 Programmes – BARB". barb.co.uk. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  9. ^ "Darren Osborne guilty of Finsbury Park mosque murder". BBC News. 1 February 2018.
  10. ^ "Meet the 2017 Women in Film and Television Award Winners". WFTV. 2 December 2017. Archived from the original on 15 January 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  11. ^ "CRAFT & DESIGN AWARDS 2017". Royal Television Society. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Bafta TV Awards: Britain's Got Talent, Love Island and Blue Planet II win". BBC News. 13 May 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  13. ^ "Nominations Announced for the British Academy Television Craft Awards in 2018". Bafta. 22 March 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  14. ^ "IFTA Film &Drama Awards Ceremony Winners". www.ifta.ie. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  15. ^ Bristol (18 March 2018). "RTS West of England Awards - winners announced!". UK RTS. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  16. ^ "RTS Programme Awards 2018, In Partnership with Audio Network". UK RTS. 13 October 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  17. ^ "BPG Awards 2018". Broadcasting Press Guild Association. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  18. ^ "Winners 2018". The Broadcast Awards. February 2019. Archived from the original on 19 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
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