Freddie Mercury: A Secret Daughter? will air tonight on 5 following the news that the Queen frontman's alleged secret child has died.

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The documentary first aired back in 2025, offering audiences "intriguing revelations about Freddie Mercury", after a biography claimed that Mercury had a secret child who had been conceived during an affair with the wife of a close friend in 1976.

The documentary features Mercury's biographer Lesley-Ann Jones, who details her investigation into whether the rock legend could have fathered a child in the '70s and kept it from those closest to him.

Freddie Mercury: A Secret Daughter? will air on Friday 16th January at 10pm on 5.

Lesley-Ann Jones, the author of Love, Freddie, told The Telegraph: "I can say now that I knew all along, while we were writing the book, that she may not live to see it published. The fact that she did was a miracle.

"Her childhood chordoma, a rare cancer that affected the base of her spine, had long been in remission. It then reared. She always knew that it would.

"The illness was the deciding factor in her decision to contact me, to tell me Freddie's story. She did not do it for money. Nor did she pay me. Nor would I have accepted payment from her. The mission was always to give her father back his truth... as it were, warts and all."

Freddie Mercury in a black and white image, looking ahead. He is sat down in front of a table.
Freddie Mercury. Rob Verhorst/Redferns

In the biography titled Love, Freddie, the woman, who was called 'Bibi' by the Queen frontman (per the Daily Mail), said: "Freddie Mercury was and is my father. We had a very close and loving relationship from the moment I was born and throughout the final 15 years of his life.

"He adored me and was devoted to me. The circumstances of my birth may seem, by most people's standards, unusual and even outrageous. That should come as no surprise. It never detracted from his commitment to love and look after me. He cherished me like a treasured possession."

Doubts have been raised as to whether Mercury did have a secret child, with Mary Austin telling The Sunday Times: "Freddie had a glorious openness, and I cannot imagine he would have wanted to, or been able to, keep such a joyful event a secret, either from me or other people closest to him."

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The woman, whose identity is anonymised, died at the age of 48 after a long battle with cancer.

B's husband told the Daily Mail in a statement: "B is now with her beloved and loving father in the world of thoughts. Her ashes were scattered to the wind over the Alps."

She is survived by her husband and their two sons.

Freddie Mercury: A Secret Daughter? airs on Friday 16th January at 10pm on 5.

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Authors

Radio Times's senior entertainment writer Katelyn Mensah is looking at the camera and smiling. She wears a black top with a leopard-print jacket tied with a black bow
Katelyn MensahSenior Entertainment Writer

Katelyn Mensah is the Senior Entertainment Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.

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