The Unofficial Royal Wedding

18 April 2011

The Unofficial Royal Wedding. Mon 2 May, 7:10pm, Channel 4

When Kate Middleton marries her Prince on April 29th, an estimated 2 billion people are expected to tune in. Even at a time of dramatic world news, the marriage of Prince William will be the global event of the year. Filmed throughout the weekend of the wedding, The Unofficial Royal Wedding will show the many different ways this event is being marked and what it means to the nation.

Through user-generated videos, the film will feature the instant reactions of spectators across Britain and the world as they have their first glimpse of the dress, the vows and the kiss on the balcony. Viewers will be providing video material of their own celebrations and flip cams are being provided internationally to capture reactions across the world from a children's home in Calcutta to a party under the Brooklyn Bridge.

The programme will follow a cast of characters across Britain over the weekend with very different views on the wedding including Carrie Reichardt - known as The Baroness, an anarchic ceramicist and artist who has been producing anti-royal wedding memorabilia. On the day of the wedding, she will be hosting a ‘Mad Hatters' tea party for her anarchic friends in a lavish ‘Cruel Britannia' themed setting in her home. Fancy dress and crockery will be compulsory and her neighbour, a fetish model, will be sporting Union Jack nipple tassles whilst serving cupcakes to guests.

Someone who is unlikely to purchase The Baroness's work is Anita Atkinson, who has held the Guinness World Record for the largest royal memorabilia collection in the world. The programme will follow the ardent royalist as she travels from her cottage near Durham to London the day before to set up camp outside Westminster Abbey - the same spot where she camped for the Queen Mother's funeral.

Another collector of sorts is former jewel thief Lenny Hamilton, a well-known face in the London crime scene of the 60s who says he was tortured by Ronnie Kray with a red hot poker. Lenny is heading down to his local pub with friends to watch the royal wedding. A fan of Kate Middleton, he'll be drawing on his ‘professional' knowledge to talk the programme through the jewellery on the day.

In Purley, Surrey, 11-year-old Frances Russell will be holding a street party for up to 40 households. Much to the surprise of her mother she has single-handedly organised permission to hold the party and is busy trying to organise a band, marquee, bunting and tables as well as the adult volunteers she has rounded-up to help.  On the day, she will be pedalling her bike up and down the leafy road to co-ordinate activities to ensure the smooth running of the event.

The Unofficial Royal Wedding will also feature entertaining footage from Alison Jackson's fake royal wedding. Renowned for her satirical use of lookalikes to produce paparazzi-style images, she staged royal scenes earlier this month on The Mall, followed by a reception for her Wills and Kate in a KFC and a London pub.

Dir/Prod: Grace Chapman, Duncan Staff
Exec Prod: Steve Boulton, David Nottman-Watt
Prod co: Back2Back
Com med: Dorothy Byrne