Labour MP Jess Phillips’ life story turned into TV drama by Years and Years producers Truth-speaking MP signs deal to adapt EVERYWOMAN: One Woman’s Truth About Speaking the Truth with RED production company

The life story of outspoken Labour MP Jess Phillips will be turned into a television drama by the team behind the BBC series Years and Years.

Phillips, who has won a cross-party following for her honest-speaking approach, sold the rights to her book, EVERYWOMAN: One Woman’s Truth About Speaking the Truth, to the RED production company.

So you know that game you play when you're a kid about who will play you in a TV drama….. My husband and kids have some wild choices. So proud to be being made dramatic by the amazing @NicolaShindler and Lucy Dyke https://t.co/Fsc1CiAHXb i's TV newsletter: what you should watch next Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription. — Jess Phillips MP (@jessphillips) May 28, 2019

The series will dramatise Phillips’ journey, from managing domestic abuse refuges at Women’s Aid to free-thinking MP for Birmingham Yardley, who has been targeted with rape and death threats.

Phillips ‘thrilled’

Phillips said she was “utterly thrilled” to be working with the Manchester-based RED, led by Bafta-winner Nicola Shindler.

“They make the kind of television that truly represents people and events as they are and that was deeply important to me.”

“The story of women in politics is complex and nuanced and intriguing, and it’s a story that needs telling,” the MP said.

The drama will tell the story of a politician who “has been making the headlines ever since for doing what women are simply not supposed to do: speak up.”

Years and Years

“Whether that is talking about her own sexual assault, reading out the names of one hundred and twenty women and girls who were murdered, or about the unnecessary VAT on sanitary products, Jess hasn’t been afraid to stand up and tell the truth.

“Jess tells the truth even when that means she is threatened, often with rape or even with death.”

In Red’s Years and Years, written by Russell T Davies, Emma Thompson plays a businesswoman-turned-politician, whose straight-talking irreverence inspires a populist movement.

Nicola Shindler, RED chief executive, said: “Jess is an inspirational woman who fights for what she believes in and isn’t afraid to be honest and outspoken.”

“Using her book as a source we’re excited to create a drama that explores how an engaged woman can make a difference in today’s very complicated world.”