Charlene White says new George Floyd documentary will "leave viewers with questions"
Charlene White and Sir Trevor McDonald are looking at how Britain has changed as we approach the one-year anniversary of George Floyd's death.
Almost one year on from George Floyd's death, Trevor McDonald and Charlene White are asking the question: Has George Floyd changed Britain? in a new ITV documentary.
The one-off film, which will air on 12th May, will see the pair investigating the consequences of Floyd's death and the conversations and events which followed in Britain, including the Black Lives Matter movement as people took to the streets to protest.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, White revealed what viewers can expect from the "emotional" film, telling us it's likely to spark conversations amongst many groups.
"I do believe that it will leave viewers with questions they can have within their own families or conversations they can have within their own workplaces," she said.
Asked whether she's personally seen any change from the BLM movement, she added: "I think the point is, is that nothing can wholeheartedly change within a year, but what we wanted to see is, are we on the path to seeing some kind of tangible difference? And these are the questions that we pose."
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Among those featured in the documentary are teachers attempting to transform the curriculum in schools, mothers campaigning for better maternity outcomes in hospitals and representatives from historic institutions that are re-examining the past.
The programme also hears from high profile public figures on why they’ve called for change and used their platforms to speak out about racism in the last year.
One of those featured is retired footballer John Barnes, who White says she had a particularly "fascinating" conversation with during filming for the documentary.
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"One of the most fascinating conversations that I had was with John Barnes, regarding sports and he just sort of said - you know he's been around a long time - and he has seen them kick racism out, show racism the red card and he's seen all of these movements come and go over his lifetime as a footballer and and he says the Black Lives Matter thing is just another iteration of it; his point being, you can have these movements, but if these movements don't lead to anything, what is the point? This is an important question to ask!"
In order to reach some sort of conclusion, the documentary will cover various topics, from education to health, and the government's recent report of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities.
She said: "Some schools have done things where education is concerned, and you have the race and disparity report which was done by the government and has its detractors. We do talk to James Cleverly, the minister, and he talks about institutional racism. We also talk about health, sport, we talk about education and social media. But, it's such a big subject, and we can't cover everything in an hour."
Trevor McDonald & Charlene White: Has George Floyd Changed Britain? will air on ITV on Wednesday, 12th May at 9pm. See what else is on with our TV Guide. Also visit our dedicated Documentaries hub for more news.
