Three Girls (TV series)

{{Infobox television

| image =

| caption =

| genre = True crime

| creator =

| developer =

| writer = Nicole Taylor

| director = Philippa Lowthorpe

| creative_director =

| starring = Maxine Peake
Lesley Sharp
Molly Windsor
Ria Zmitrowicz
Liv Hill
Ace Bhatti
Paul Kaye
Jill Halfpenny
Bo Bragason
Lisa Riley

| open_theme =

| end_theme =

| composer = Natalie Holt

| country = United Kingdom

| language = English

| num_series = 1

| num_episodes = 3

| list_episodes =

| executive_producer = Lucy Richer
Hilary Salmon
Susan Hogg

| producer = Simon Lewis

| editor = Úna Ní Dhonghaíle

| location =

| cinematography = Matt Gray BSC

| camera =

| runtime = 60 minutes

| company = BBC Studios
Studio Lambert

| channel = BBC One

| first_aired = {{Start date|2017|05|16|df=yes}}

| last_aired = {{End date|2017|05|18|df=yes}}

}}

Three Girls is a three-part British television drama series written by Nicole Taylor and directed by Philippa Lowthorpe. It was broadcast on three consecutive nights between 16 and 18 May 2017 on BBC One.{{cite news|author1=Lara Martin|author2=James Rodger|title=BBC drama Three Girls: What happened to the sex abuse victims|url=http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/showbiz-tv/three-girls-where-victims-now-13055006?service=responsive|access-date=27 May 2017|agency=Birmingham Mail|date=May 23, 2017|language=en}} A co-production between BBC Studios and Studio Lambert, the series is a dramatised version of the events surrounding the Rochdale child sex abuse ring, and describes how the police and the local authorities failed to investigate allegations of child abuse and rape because the victims were perceived as unreliable witnesses and through fear of being accused of racism because of the ethnicity of the perpetrators.{{cite news|title=Three Girls: who is Sara Rowbotham? The sexual health worker behind the uncovering of the Rochdale child-abuse scandal|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/three-girls-sara-rowbotham-sexual-health-worker-hero-behind/|date=23 May 2017|publisher=The Telegraph|access-date=27 May 2017|language=en}}

Three Girls drew a strong viewing audience upon its first broadcast, with 8.24 million viewers for episode one, 7.88 million for episode two and 8.19 million for episode three.{{cite web|url=http://www.barb.co.uk/viewing-data/weekly-top-30/|title=Weekly top 30 programmes - BARB|website=www.barb.co.uk}} The series was released on DVD in Region 2 on 8 January 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Girls-BBC-Molly-Windsor/dp/B0772BTKT9/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1534438737&sr=1-1&keywords=%22three+girls%22|title=Three Girls|website=Amazon UK |date=8 January 2018 }}

A BBC documentary on the case, The Betrayed Girls, was broadcast on 3 July 2017 as a follow-up to the drama.{{cite web|url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/-the-betrayed-girls-grooming-scandal-13274483|title=The Betrayed Girls: Five things we learned about the Rochdale grooming scandal from BBC documentary|website=The Manchester Evening News|date=3 July 2017|access-date=4 February 2018}}

Plot

The story is told from the viewpoint of three of the victims: fourteen-year-old Holly Winshaw, sixteen-year-old Amber Bowen and her younger sister Ruby. The focus later shifts to sexual health worker Sara Rowbotham, the main whistleblower who drew attention to the case after repeated pleas for action from social services and the police fell on deaf ears.

DC Margaret Oliver, the lead investigator on the case, manages to gain the support of her superior officer, Sandy Guthrie to instigate a full-blown investigation. However, despite significant evidence, the CPS decides to drop the case because of an “unrealistic prospect of conviction”. After Margaret convinces Amber Bowen to testify against her former boyfriend, Tariq, the case is re-opened by recently appointed public prosecutor Nazir Afzal, who with the assistance of the police and the victims involved, manages to secure convictions against ten men involved in the ring.{{cite news|author1=Homa Khaleeli|title=Molly Windsor, star of Rochdale abuse drama Three Girls: 'It made me really angry'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/may/16/molly-windsor-three-girls-bbc-rochdale-abuse-scandal|date=16 May 2017|agency=The Guardian|access-date=27 May 2017|language=en}}

Rowbotham, Oliver and Afzal all acted as consultants on the series.{{cite web|title=Three Girls (TV Mini-Series 2017)| website=IMDb |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6835252/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast}}

Cast

Maxine Peake as Sara Rowbotham
Lesley Sharp as DC Margaret Oliver
Molly Windsor as Holly Winshaw
Ria Zmitrowicz as Amber Bowen
Liv Hill as Ruby Bowen
Ace Bhatti as Nazir Afzal
Paul Kaye as Jim Winshaw
Jill Halfpenny as Julie Winshaw
Bo Bragason as Rachel Winshaw
Lisa Riley as Lorna Bowen
Naomi Radcliffe as Yvonne
Jason Hughes as DC Sandy Guthrie
Rupert Procter as DC Jack Harrop
Ross Anderson as PC Richard Bryan
Antonio Aakeel as Immy
Wasim Zakir as Tariq
Zee Sulleyman as Billy
Simon Nagra as Daddy

Episodes

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="width:100%;"

style="color:#fff;"

! style="background:#FF623B;"| Episode

! style="background:#FF623B;"| Title

! style="background:#FF623B;"| Written by

! style="background:#FF623B;"| Directed by

! style="background:#FF623B;"| Viewers
(millions){{cite web|url=http://www.barb.co.uk/whats-new/weekly-top-30?|title=Top 30 Programmes – BARB|publisher=barb.co.uk|access-date=2016-02-11}}

! style="background:#FF623B;"| Original airdate

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber= 1

|Title= Episode 1

|Aux1= Nicole Taylor

|Aux2= Philippa Lowthorpe

|Aux3= 8.24

|OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2017|05|16|df=y}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=FF623B

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber= 2

|Title= Episode 2

|Aux1= Nicole Taylor

|Aux2= Philippa Lowthorpe

|Aux3= 7.88

|OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2017|05|17|df=y}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=FF623B

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber= 3

|Title= Episode 3

|Aux1= Nicole Taylor

|Aux2= Philippa Lowthorpe

|Aux3= 8.19

|OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|2017|05|18|df=y}}

|ShortSummary=

|LineColor=FF623B

}}

Filming

The three part drama was filmed from June to August 2016 in Bristol and released from 16th to 18th May 2017. As for filming locations, the council offices on Temple Street doubled as Liverpool Crown Court, whilst Bristol Register Office was used for interior community meeting scenes. Filming also took place in Victoria Park, Eastville Park and streets in Hartcliffe, Knowle, Easton, Bedminster and Redcliffe.

Link to Finsbury Park attack

In June 2017, a terrorist attack was launched against mosque-goers in Finsbury Park. The attacker, Darren Osborne, used a van to run over Muslim pedestrians, killing one man and injuring several others. In the course of the trial, it was remarked that Osborne developed an obsession with Muslims after watching Three Girls.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-42910051|title=Darren Osborne guilty of Finsbury Park mosque murder|date=1 February 2018|publisher=BBC News}}

Reception

=Accolades=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style=width=100%
scope="col" style="width:3%;"\| Year ! scope="col" style="width:23%;"\| Award ! scope="col" style="width:29%;"\| Category ! scope="col" style="width:23%;"\| Nominee(s) ! scope="col" style="width:7%;"\| Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable" style="width:1%;"\| {{Abbr\|Ref.\|References}}
rowspan="6"\| 2017 \| WFTV Awards \| The Deluxe Director Award \| Philippa Lowthorpe \| {{won}} \| {{cite web \| title = Meet the 2017 Women in Film and Television Award Winners \| website = WFTV \| date = December 2, 2017 \| url = https://wftv.org.uk/events-gallery/2017-wftv-award-winners/ \| access-date = May 17, 2018 \| archive-date = 15 January 2018 \| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180115071808/https://wftv.org.uk/events-gallery/2017-wftv-award-winners/ \| url-status = dead }}
{{ill\|Festival de la Fiction TV Awards\|fr\| Festival de la fiction TV de La Rochelle}} \| {{ill\|Jury Special Prize for European Fiction\|fr\| Festival de la fiction TV de La Rochelle 2017}} \| Three Girls \| {{won}} \|
rowspan="4"\| Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards \| Director - Drama \| Philippa Lowthorpe \| {{nom}} \| rowspan="4"\| {{cite web\|url=https://rts.org.uk/award/craft-design-awards-2017\|title=CRAFT & DESIGN AWARDS 2017\|website=Royal Television Society\|date=5 June 2017 \|accessdate=4 March 2023}}
Editing - Drama \| Úna Ní Dhonghaíle \| {{won}}
Music - Original Score \| Natalie Holt \| {{nom}}
Photography - Drama & Comedy \| Matt Gray \| {{won}}
rowspan="14" \| 2018 \| rowspan="3"\|British Academy Television Awards \| Best Mini-Series \| Three Girls \| {{won}} \| rowspan="3"\|{{cite news\|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-44102374\|title=Bafta TV Awards: Britain's Got Talent, Love Island and Blue Planet II win\|date=13 May 2018\|publisher=BBC News\|access-date=13 May 2018}}
Best Actress \| Molly Windsor \| {{won}}
Best Supporting Actress \| Liv Hill \| {{nom}}
rowspan="3"\|British Academy Television Craft Awards \| Best Director: Fiction \| Philippa Lowthorpe \| {{Won}} \| rowspan="3"\|{{cite news\|url=http://www.bafta.org/media-centre/press-releases/tv-craft-nominations-2018\|title=Nominations Announced for the British Academy Television Craft Awards in 2018\|work=Bafta\|date=22 March 2018\|access-date=11 April 2018}}
Best Writer: Drama \| Nicole Tyler \| {{Won}}
Best Editing: Fiction \| Úna Ní Dhonghaíle \| {{Won}}
Irish Film & Television Awards \| Editing \| Úna Ní Dhonghaíle \| {{Won}} \| {{Cite web\|url=http://www.ifta.ie/awards/news/winners2018.html\|title=IFTA Film &Drama Awards Ceremony Winners\|website=www.ifta.ie\|access-date=2018-09-15}}
rowspan="2" \| RTS Programme Awards - West of England \| Best Television Drama \| Three Girls \| {{Won}} \| rowspan="2"\|{{cite web \| author = Bristol \| title = RTS West of England Awards - winners announced! \| website = UK RTS \| date = March 18, 2018 \| url = https://rts.org.uk/article/rts-west-england-awards-winners-announced \| access-date = May 20, 2018 }}
Best Director Drama \| Philippa Lowthorpe \| {{Won}}
rowspan="3"\| Royal Television Society Programme Awards \| Mini-Series \| Three Girls \| {{Won}} \| rowspan="3"\|{{cite web \| title = RTS Programme Awards 2018, In Partnership with Audio Network \| website = UK RTS \| date = 13 October 2017 \| url = https://rts.org.uk/award/rts-programme-awards-2018-partnership-audio-network \| access-date = May 16, 2018 }}
Writer Award - Drama \| Nicole Taylor \| {{won}}
Breakthrough Award - On Screen \| Molly Windsor \| {{nom}}
Broadcasting Press Guild \| Best Single Drama/Mini-series \| Three Girls \| {{won}} \| {{cite web \|url = http://www.broadcastingpressguild.org/bpg-awards/2018-2/ \|title = BPG Awards 2018 \|date = 16 May 2018 \|access-date = 17 May 2018 \|website = Broadcasting Press Guild Association }}
UK Broadcast Awards \| Best Drama Series or Serial \| Three Girls \| {{won}} \| {{cite web \|url = https://broadcastawards.co.uk/winners-2018/ \|title = Winners 2018 \|date = February 2019 \|access-date = 19 May 2018 \|website = The Broadcast Awards \|archive-date = 19 May 2018 \|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180519205251/https://broadcastawards.co.uk/winners-2018/ \|url-status = dead }}

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style=width=100%

scope="col" style="width:3%;"| Year

! scope="col" style="width:23%;"| Award

! scope="col" style="width:29%;"| Category

! scope="col" style="width:23%;"| Nominee(s)

! scope="col" style="width:7%;"| Result

! scope="col" class="unsortable" style="width:1%;"| {{Abbr|Ref.|References}}

rowspan="6"| 2017

| WFTV Awards

| The Deluxe Director Award

| Philippa Lowthorpe

| {{won}}

| {{cite web

| title = Meet the 2017 Women in Film and Television Award Winners

| website = WFTV

| date = December 2, 2017

| url = https://wftv.org.uk/events-gallery/2017-wftv-award-winners/

| access-date = May 17, 2018

| archive-date = 15 January 2018

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180115071808/https://wftv.org.uk/events-gallery/2017-wftv-award-winners/

| url-status = dead

}}

{{ill|Festival de la Fiction TV Awards|fr| Festival de la fiction TV de La Rochelle}}

| {{ill|Jury Special Prize for European Fiction|fr| Festival de la fiction TV de La Rochelle 2017}}

| Three Girls

| {{won}}

rowspan="4"| Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards

| Director - Drama

| Philippa Lowthorpe

| {{nom}}

| rowspan="4"| {{cite web|url=https://rts.org.uk/award/craft-design-awards-2017|title=CRAFT & DESIGN AWARDS 2017|website=Royal Television Society|date=5 June 2017 |accessdate=4 March 2023}}

Editing - Drama

| Úna Ní Dhonghaíle

| {{won}}

Music - Original Score

| Natalie Holt

| {{nom}}

Photography - Drama & Comedy

| Matt Gray

| {{won}}

rowspan="14" | 2018

| rowspan="3"|British Academy Television Awards

| Best Mini-Series

| Three Girls

| {{won}}

| rowspan="3"|{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-44102374|title=Bafta TV Awards: Britain's Got Talent, Love Island and Blue Planet II win|date=13 May 2018|publisher=BBC News|access-date=13 May 2018}}

Best Actress

| Molly Windsor

| {{won}}

Best Supporting Actress

| Liv Hill

| {{nom}}

rowspan="3"|British Academy Television Craft Awards

| Best Director: Fiction

| Philippa Lowthorpe

| {{Won}}

| rowspan="3"|{{cite news|url=http://www.bafta.org/media-centre/press-releases/tv-craft-nominations-2018|title=Nominations Announced for the British Academy Television Craft Awards in 2018|work=Bafta|date=22 March 2018|access-date=11 April 2018}}

Best Writer: Drama

| Nicole Tyler

| {{Won}}

Best Editing: Fiction

| Úna Ní Dhonghaíle

| {{Won}}

Irish Film & Television Awards

| Editing

| Úna Ní Dhonghaíle

| {{Won}}

| {{Cite web|url=http://www.ifta.ie/awards/news/winners2018.html|title=IFTA Film &Drama Awards Ceremony Winners|website=www.ifta.ie|access-date=2018-09-15}}

rowspan="2" | RTS Programme Awards - West of England

| Best Television Drama

| Three Girls

| {{Won}}

| rowspan="2"|{{cite web

| author = Bristol

| title = RTS West of England Awards - winners announced!

| website = UK RTS

| date = March 18, 2018

| url = https://rts.org.uk/article/rts-west-england-awards-winners-announced

| access-date = May 20, 2018

}}