Of the many thousands of British women who fought for the right to vote at the turn of the 20th century, perhaps the most famous is Emmeline Pankhurst. As one of the leading members of the suffragettes (an initially derogatory term, reclaimed by Pankhurst’s “army of women”, to describe the more militant branch of the suffragists), she helped change the course of history, playing a crucial role in helping (some) women finally secure the vote in 1918.
But beyond her name and cause, who actually was Emmeline Pankhurst? Even Suffragette, Sarah Gavron’s star-studded movie, opted out of answering this question, presenting Meryl Streep’s Pankhurst as a formidable but remote figure. Enter Emmeline Pankhurst: Making of a Militant (BBC Four), which attempted – with the help of Coronation Street star and fellow “proud Mancunian” Sally Lindsay – to fill in the gaps in Pankhurst’s life story, compressing “the loves, losses and family tragedies of this working mum from Manchester” into the space of half an hour.
Interweaving conversations with historians with footage of an actress (Frances Tither) playing Pankhurst herself, the programme drew from the Lucy Worsley school of documentary-making (Worsley, in fact, had her own programme on the topic two weeks ago). It stopped short, though, of full-on immersion – and thankfully so. The re-enactments, though solidly performed, were an unnecessary addition to a fascinating documentary. “She was a precocious reader,” explained Pankhurst’s great-nephew Michael Goulden, as we cut to scenes of “Pankhurst” leafing studiously through a book – just in case you couldn’t quite imagine what it looks like to read.