Published: November 25, 2024 — When Bradford City FC met Lincoln City on May 11th 1985 for the final game of the season, the thing that everyone remembers most fondly is the carnival atmosphere. Bradford, always the underdog and a team used to teetering on the edge of financial ruin, had clinched promotion three weeks earlier, thrashing Cambridge United 4-0. Their spot at the top of the league was assured. As the team paraded the championship trophy around the ground before kick off, everyone was looking forward to a historic game: with promotion in the bag, even a loss wouldn’t change their rank in the league.

But what happened at the end of a goal-less first half was instead the stuff of nightmares. A fire, believed to have been started by a discarded cigarette or match, engulfed one of the old wooden stands. 56 lives were lost and the event made headlines around the world as the city and the nation struggled to confront the enormity of Bradford’s loss. Margaret Thatcher travelled to the scene of the disaster as the media went into overdrive about crowd safety, looking for hooligans to blame, and a senior Judge was appointed to launch an immediate inquiry, the findings of which changed the beautiful game forever.

And then, over the next four decades, the story of one of the world’s biggest ever sporting disasters faded quietly away.

Now, on the 40th anniversary of the event in May 2025, that story will be remembered and its victims and survivors commemorated, with the definitive record of a forgotten tragedy, as told through the compelling personal testimony of those who were there, many of whom speak here for the first time. Combining extraordinary access to the people who survived, family members of the bereaved and emergency service first responders, Unforgotten: The Bradford City Fire is not just a film about a tragedy it is also a celebration of community, resilience and collective memory, exploring the extraordinary strength of human spirit and bravery through those who experienced it and those who were called upon to deal with the aftermath.

Simon Young, BBC Head of Commissioning, History, says: “This film gets at the heart of a modern dilemma. In a world where everything is recorded on film, how do we sensitively remember and commemorate? What should remain off limits? And how do we ensure that a tragedy is marked and the lessons learned for future generations? It’s an honour to be working on this project with the people of Bradford to ensure that this anniversary is not forgotten.”

Jaimie D’Cruz, Executive Producer, acme tv, says: “The devastating fire at Valley Parade in May 1985 claimed 56 lives and had a huge impact on Bradford, on the nation and on the game of football itself. Yet in the years since, awareness of this extraordinary tragedy has largely faded from our collective memory. Making a commemorative film to mark the fortieth anniversary of the event has been both a privilege and a responsibility, and we’re incredibly grateful to the community and those who were directly affected by the tragedy, who entrusted us to tell their stories.”

Unforgotten: The Bradford City Fire (w/t), a 1×90’ for BBC Two and iPlayer, is made by acme tv and was commissioned by Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual. The Executive Producer is Jaimie D’Cruz, the Producer is George Grafton and the Director is Andy Worboys. The Commissioning Editors are Simon Young, Head of Commissioning, History and Anna Dickeson.

Notes

The BBC is committed to supporting Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture throughout the year and in June it was announced the BBC would be an official broadcast partner.

This means there will be unforgettable coverage across BBC local and national TV, BBC iPlayer, Radio, BBC Sounds and Online bringing audiences together to celebrate Bradford.

The BBC has so far commissioned a raft of new content across arts, education, factual, sport and Local for the city’s momentous year. This includes the New Comedy Awards final and Contains Strong Language spoken word festival both coming to Bradford, a Countryfile special, and the BBC Bitesize Schools Tour being offered to schools across the district.

A full list of the commissions so far can be found here – Fresh comedy voices, school tours and a celebration of dance as BBC announces partnership ahead of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture

Further announcements about new BBC content, events and coverage of the celebrations will follow soon.