BBC Announces New Documentary Featuring Little Mix, Sugababes, and More
Britpop may have ruled the lads, but the real soundtrack of the late ’90s and early ’00s came from the girlbands – and now the BBC is finally giving them their due.
Girlbands Forever, a three-part docuseries dropping later this year on BBC Two and iPlayer, promises to rewind the glory days of All Saints, Atomic Kitten, Mis-Teeq, Eternal, Sugababes, Little Mix and more.
Produced by Mindhouse (the team behind last year’s Boybands Forever) and exec-produced by Louis Theroux and Nancy Strang, the series isn’t just about nostalgia. Sure, there’ll be plenty of iconic videos, smash singles and fashion flashbacks, but it also aims to get under the skin of what it really meant to be a woman in the middle of pop’s most ruthless machine.
Fans are in for some big names spilling stories straight from the frontlines of the charts.
Heidi Range (Sugababes), Melanie Blatt (All Saints), Kéllé Bryan (Eternal), Kerry Katona (Atomic Kitten), Su-Elise Nash (Mis-Teeq) and Perrie Edwards (Little Mix) are all confirmed to appear. Expect candid talk about everything from chart rivalries to the chaos of touring to the personal toll of living under a tabloid microscope.
The industry voices are just as heavyweight: Pete Waterman, Pete Tong, Clara Amfo, Tulisa, Nicki Chapman, Scott Mills, and MNEK all contribute their takes on how girl bands shaped – and sometimes saved – the British pop scene.
Theroux has said the aim is both to celebrate and to interrogate life in the spotlight for these artists. For every moment of pop perfection, there’s the tougher reality: burnout, industry pressure, media intrusion and the sheer grind of keeping a group together.
Jonathan Rothery, Head of BBC Popular Music TV says, “Following the fantastic, headline-grabbing Boybands Forever series from Louis Theroux and Nancy Strang at Mindhouse, the focus now turns to the stories of some of the UK’s most influential girl groups. Girlbands Forever promises a nostalgic trip through that time in pop music history, as well as an exploration into the truth of being a young woman thrust into the spotlight, the lived experiences and the lessons learnt.”
Why It Matters
From the Spice Girls’ “girl power” revolution to Little Mix’s global chart domination, girlbands didn’t just pump out hits, but ultimately, reshaped culture.
During the course of their reign, they’ve sold out arenas, pushed back against industry sexism, and given young fans role models who looked, dressed and spoke like them. They also faced relentless criticism in ways their male counterparts rarely did. This documentary looks set to reframe that story, spotlighting both the triumphs and the fallouts.
Whilst no official timeline has been announced, Girlbands Forever will air on BBC Two and iPlayer later this year.
