Esther Ghey emotional as she opens up on taking back Brianna's story to show 'who she really was'

Throughout the documentary, Brianna's life is told through the lens of her mother, stepfather and closest friends – something that was "really important" to Esther in its creation.

Speaking at a Q&A after a press screening of the documentary, Esther said: "I just feel so completely emotional after watching that, so I'm sorry if I don't get my words up properly. But when you lose a child, especially in a tragic circumstance which is so high profile, your child essentially – this is how I kind of feel – becomes public property.

"So anybody can write anything that they want to, anybody can make any kind of film that they want to and it was really important for me to work with somebody who I trusted, and it was really important for me to also make sure that the documentary was authentic and showed Brianna for who she was."

Esther went on praise Brianna's friends who feature in the documentary, saying they did a "really outstanding job".

In February 2023, Brianna Ghey was stabbed to death. Her killers, Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, were given life sentences in February 2024.

Esther previously said in a statement that she took part in the documentary to ensure that her "family's story was told truthfully, and people could get to know Brianna the way we did".

The film was made by MultiStory Media, with director Iwan Roberts explaining how it was important to get "the tone" of the documentary correct.

"You have to tell the crime itself, because it's such an awful thing, to tell that as sensitively as you can to get the impact," Roberts said at the Q&A.

"It's discussions, especially with Esther, especially within the team of how we approach things, how we film them, those questions we ask people to get those answers that gives us that emotion, gives us the reasons for telling those elements. And a great deal of preparation and then review and making sure it's tonally right to produce what we've made."

Brianna: A Mother's Story will air on Thursday 27th March at 9pm on ITV1, ITVX, STV & STV Player.

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