This three-part documentary series for Channel 4 will tell the story of the famous, and notorious, Mitford sisters. The six daughters of an English peer and cousins to the Churchills, these distinguished socialites had ringside seats to some of the most extraordinary and divisive events of the mid-twentieth century. Leading radically modern lives for women of the time, they met everyone who was anyone, from Hitler to the Windsors, the Goebbels to the Kennedys, Evelyn Waugh to Eva Braun. The Spanish Civil War, the Fascist rallies in the East End, the rise of the Nazis, the Blitz, the destruction of the old aristocratic England – they were present for it all. 

Diana Mitford married the British Fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley, was declared an enemy of the state and imprisoned during WWII; Jessica Mitford eloped with Winston Churchill’s nephew to Spain at the height of the civil war before moving to America, becoming a communist, civil rights activist and celebrated journalist; Unity ingratiated herself with Hitler and attended every Nuremberg rally, before shooting herself on the day war was declared; Nancy, in bestselling novels such as The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate, mythologised the eccentric lives of the Mitford family; while Deborah became the Duchess of Devonshire, reviving one of England’s grandest houses – Chatsworth - before dying at the age of 94 in 2014.

Talking to experts, biographers and family members, and drawing on a wealth of interviews the sisters gave later in life, as well as their extensive writings, the series will use the sisters’ own words to narrate the story of their incredible lives from their own unique perspectives. 

 Neil Crombie, Creative Director, Swan Films: “This is an incredible and very timely opportunity to tell the true stories of these remarkable women. Through their eyes and in their words we’ll experience some of the most dramatic events of their times – an age with some thought-provoking parallels with our own.”

 Shaminder Nahal, Head of Specialist Factual says: “I’ve long been intrigued by the Mitfords and what these aristocratic women, who were constantly in the papers, in the gossip columns, and even in the presence of the most terrifying people of the age - say about Britain. We’ll be looking at some of the major events in 20^th century history through their stories, including the rise of British fascism, which offers salutary truths for today. I can’t wait to see what the extraordinary team at Swan Films make, hot on the heels of their utterly brilliant series Miners’ Strike 1984: The Battle for Britain.”    

Series Director: Alice McMahon-Major

Producer: Charlotte Rodrigues

Editors: Holly Bridcut and Gregg Morgan

Executive Producers: Neil Crombie and Joe Evans