Channel 4 commissions Sarah Beeny: Breast Cancer, My Family and Me (w/t) from Outline Wales and Knockers Group

2 November 2022

Documentary follows Sarah Beeny and her family as she undergoes treatment

Channel 4 has greenlit a new documentary from Outline Wales and Sarah Beeny’s production company Knockers Group, which follows the property expert and TV presenter and her family as she undergoes treatment for breast cancer.

Sarah Beeny was diagnosed with breast cancer in August, one of the 55,200 people who receive the same news every year.

On the surface it came as a shocking bolt from the blue. But deep down, it was something that she had been expecting for 40 years. As a ten-year-old girl, Sarah experienced the heart-breaking loss of her mother after her own breast cancer spread to her brain. Her mother’s story and Sarah’s own experience then and now forms the basis for this documentary, which follows her course of treatment and its effects, not just from her perspective but also from the viewpoints of husband Graham and their four sons, Billy (18), Charlie (16), Raffey (14) and Laurie (13).

Alongside her personal journey, Sarah Beeny: Breast Cancer, My Family and Me (1x60’, w/t) allows Sarah to try to answer some of the important questions and issues a breast cancer diagnosis has thrown up for her – such as how far treatment has come in the last 40 years, and whether her mother might have survived if she had had the same treatment as Sarah is having today.

The documentary is being made in support of Stand Up To Cancer, a joint national fundraising campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4, which over the last 10 years has raised more than £93 million in the UK, funding 64 clinical trials and projects involving more than 13,000 cancer patients. In the documentary, Sarah will meet teams at Cancer Research UK who are at the cutting edge of research, to find out what the future holds for breast cancer patients.

Sarah Beeny says: “When I was diagnosed with breast cancer there was a moment where I considered not telling anyone in the world including my husband and children.  Three minutes later I realised that wasn’t going to be possible and I was overwhelmed by the response I received – which highlighted that I was not alone in having long held a disproportionate fear of breast cancer.  So I decided to make this documentary about how far treatment has come in the last 40 years but also about how it still affects you and those around you both mentally and physically.  Ultimately, I want to take some of the fear out of the words ‘you have breast cancer’ and encourage people to seek help as early as possible, giving them the best chance of diagnosis and overcoming the disease.”

Laura Mansfield, Managing Director, Outline Productions says: “Sarah strongly believes we shouldn’t be as afraid of cancer as we are.  She wants to share that message by letting viewers see how she and her family deal with her experience, which she’s approaching with the same no-nonsense, pragmatic and positive approach Sarah has brought to every aspect of her life. Sarah Beeny: Breast Cancer, My Family and Me (w/t) will be informative and straight talking but also full of fun and laughter with her family.”

Kate Thomas says: “Sarah is part of our Channel 4 family, and we are awestruck at her determination to share her experience, speak openly and to help inform others who may be facing a similar diagnosis.”

Dr Julie Sharp, head of health information at Cancer Research UK, said: “We were very sorry to hear about Sarah’s diagnosis of breast cancer and are honoured to be part of her documentary.

“Breast cancer survival is improving and has doubled since the 1970s, but it is still most common cancer in the UK with 1 in 7 women being diagnosed in their lifetime. Through this personal documentary, Sarah will raise vital awareness of breast cancer, the importance of early diagnosis and the progress in treatment thanks to research.

“It’s important to remember that everybody’s breasts are different and what’s normal for one person might not be normal for someone else. This is why it’s so important to tell the doctor about anything that’s unusual for you. In most cases it won’t be cancer, but if it is, finding it early can make a real difference.”

Sarah Beeny: My Family, Breast Cancer and Me (1x60’, w/t) is an Outline Wales and Knockers Group co-production for Channel 4. It is produced and directed by Jonney Steven, and the executive producers are Laura Mansfield and Helen Veale for Outline Wales and Sarah Beeny for Knockers Group. It has been commissioned by Kate Thomas, Commissioning Editor, Daytime and Features.

Alongside the new documentary, Outline Wales and Knockers Group are also in production on the third season of Sarah Beeny’s New Life in the Country (7x60’, which will air in the new year, and new off-peak series Sarah Beeny’s New Country Lives (20x60’), both for Channel 4.

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* Ahmad A.S., Ormiston-Smith N. & Sasieni P.D. (2015). Trends in the lifetime risk of developing cancer in Great Britain: comparison of risk for those born from 1930 to 1960., British Journal of Cancer.

About Stand Up To Cancer (UK)  

• Stand Up To Cancer is a joint national fundraising campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4 that brings the UK together to speed up progress in life-saving cancer research 
• Supported by the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) in the US and launched in the UK in 2012, Stand Up To Cancer funds translational research, turning academic breakthroughs in the labs into new treatments that make a real difference for people with cancer. 
• More than £93 million has been raised in the UK to date, funding 64 clinical trials and projects involving more than 13,000 cancer patients
• Research projects include the development of pioneering technology to detect super low levels of cancerous DNA in blood to improve the way we diagnose ovarian cancer, developing a new immunotherapy drug to boost the power of the immune system against cancer, exploring an entirely new approach to treating bowel cancer, and much more 
• Stars such as Naomi Campbell, Noel Gallagher, Tom Hardy, Gillian Anderson, Idris Elba, Andy Murray, James Corden, Martin Freeman, Jamie Oliver, Richard Ayoade, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Peter Crouch, Abbey Clancy, Danny Dyer, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Lily James, Rosamund Pike, Sophie Turner, Stephen Graham, Toby Jones, Maya Jama, Joe Lycett and Roman Kemp are just some of the talent who have supported Stand Up To Cancer     

To find out more about Stand Up To Cancer and how you can support, visit su2c.org.uk or channel4.com/SU2C or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or TikTok

 

About Outline Productions

Outline is an independent TV production company with bases in London and Wales, dedicated to creating factual entertainment, lifestyle, popular factual, entertainment, and reality series and formats for broadcasters and platforms in the UK and internationally, including BBC1, BBC 2, BBC 3, Channel 4, ITV, Channel Five, Sky 1, UKTV, HGTV Discovery UK and US and TLC. We take pride in the high calibre and bold editorial ambition of our programmes, and bring our passion for excellence to a broad range of subjects, with global appeal, from food and gardening to business and health. Over the years, our innovative approach has seen us create returning series and build strong programme brands including: Sarah Beeny’s New Life in the Country, Remarkable Places to Eat,  Sarah Beeny’s Renovate Don’t Relocate; No More Boys and Girls: Can Our Kids Go Gender Free?, Born On The Same Day,Great British Food Revival, Britain’s Big Wildlife Revival and Great British Garden Revival, Health Freaks, Tom Kerridge’s Proper Pub Food, Tom Kerridge’s Best Ever Dishes, Million Dollar Intern, Jo Frost: Extreme Parental Guidance, Fat Families, Dumped and The House of Tiny Tearaways.