A documentary about Britain's worst sporting disaster, which was banned from being screened whilst the Coroner's inquests took place, will premiere on UK television this weekend.
Produced and directed by former student of Wilmslow High School Daniel Gordon, 'Hillsborough' provides a moving account of the tragedy in which 96 men, women and children were killed, hundreds injured and thousands left traumatised.
Daniel, 43, now lives in Sheffield and attended Wilmslow High School from 1984 to 1991 where he says his first English teacher Mr Fredericks was a true inspiration to him. He has been making documentaries for 20 years and the updated version of 'Hillsborough', which will be broadcast on BBC2 on Sunday 8th May, is his most recent work.
Speaking about why he decided to make the Hillsborough documentary, Daniel told wilmslow.co.uk "I was a pupil at Wilmslow High when Hillsborough happened. I vividly remember how a number of us were affected, mainly because we were all football fans, we all went to watch our various teams and we all knew that it could so easily have been us. I'd been trying to make this documentary for many years, but during the making of another one (9.79*) ESPN mentioned they wanted to make it as well. I pulled them and the BBC together, and four years later we are finished."
Public screenings of Hillsborough will take place in Sheffield, Liverpool and Belfast during the coming week, after which Daniel and Professor Phil Scraton, who features heavily in the film and has worked tirelessly to expose the truth about Hillsborough, will partake in a Q&A.
The documentary has been updated following last week's verdict which concluded that the 96 victims of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster were unlawfully killed.
Daniel said "The biggest compliment to the film is that last week's verdict meant we had to change none of the content of the film, but we needed to update the ending appropriately."
He added "The ending feels like it's part of the whole film, it hasn't merely been clipped on as an afterthought. It is a hugely emotional film, you will feel every sense of anger, anguish, sadness and some elation at the end – although that elation is tinged in reflection that it has taken so long for the truth to be out."
Daniel is planning to visit Wilmslow High School shortly to talk to students about his career and the documentary.
Assistant Headteacher, Mark Vincent commented, "It's always great to hear about the career pathways and successes of former students. Students gain so much from listening to our alumni when they return to school to talk about their work and experiences. I'm delighted that Dan has agreed to come in and contribute to our aspirations programme of events."
Hillsborough will be broadcast on BBC2 at 9pm on Sunday 8th May.
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