Holly Willoughby made a surprise television appearance at the National Television Awards on Tuesday evening, presenting Best Authored Documentary before Our Girls: The Southport Families took the prize. The win pushed a documentary about the Southport families back into the spotlight on a night built around recognition, not grief.
Our Girls at The O2
Our Girls: The Southport Families beat Caroline Flack: Search for the Truth, Jesy Nelson: Life After Little Mix, Sharon & Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home and Sir Chris Hoy: Cancer, Courage and Me. Released in December last year, it is available to stream on iPlayer, giving viewers a direct route to the film after the awards lift its profile.
Jenni accepts on stage
Jenni, Elsie's mum, accepted alongside the creators of the documentary and the parents of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar. She said, "We never expected to be stood up here so I literally don't know what to say," and added, "It's a documentary that should never have had to be made, but it was, and thank you to everyone that voted."
Tribute, then applause
Jenni also told the room, "I know you didn't vote for us; you voted for Elsie, Alice and Bebe, and for that we will be forever grateful, so thank you." She embraced Lauren and Alex after her speech, a brief on-stage moment that carried the weight of a project built from loss rather than awards-season ambition.
Richard Frediani called the film "a heartfelt tribute to Alice, Bebe and Elsie," while Sarah Campbell said it had been "a huge privilege to document how the families of Alice, Bebe and Elsie have worked to create a positive legacy for their daughters." How many votes the documentary received and how the winner was selected are not explained, but the result sends viewers straight back to iPlayer if they want to judge the film on its own terms.
