91Èȱ¬

Uplifting, poignant and funny Olympic sports drama based on true events, premiering on the eve of Paris 2024.

It’s 1948. London is picked to host the Olympics. But GB is skint, hungry and tired after eight years of rationing and a £7,000 million war debt. It has nothing left, including hope. This Olympics are set to be an embarrassing failure.

In the middle of impending doom, young GB athletes Dorothy Manley, Maureen Gardner and Evelyn Betchley arrive, all set to race veteran Dutch runner Fanny Blankers-Koen (‘FBK’). At 30, mother-of-two FBK is considered too old to compete and battles with the anti-sportswomen male Establishment, led by Avery Brundage, President of the International Olympic Committee, who preaches how sport endangers female fertility.

When Brundage turns the press on FBK (dubbed ‘The Flying Housewife’) for neglecting her children, matters escalate. Just before the Games begin, FBK discovers she is three months pregnant. When team GB find out, will FBK be hounded out of the Games?

This inspiring drama chronicles a remarkable journey. It shows how the poor Olympics defied all odds to become a beacon of hope and unity, epitomised by ‘The Flying Housewife’ and the GB team. It shows how everyone pulled together to create one of the most unforgettable and heart warming Olympics in history.

Starring Martin Bonger, Hollie Burgess (‘Gudrun’), AK Golding, Sandra-Mae Lux (‘The Sandman’), Remmie Milner, Wilf Scolding (‘The Archers’) and Kerry Shale (‘Yentl’).

Soundtrack by pioneering 1940s women musicians Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Ella Fitzgerald.

Written and directed by Sean Grundy
Executive Producer: Boz Temple-Morris
Recorded by Wilfredo Acosta
Sound Design by Alisdair McGregor
Produced by Cara Jennings
A HandDrawn production for 91Èȱ¬ Radio 4