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1. Quiet Plans

4 Extra Debut. Pandora Sykes explains how one of the most famous women in the world, Britney Spears, was placed in a legal conservatorship

International superstar Britney Spears: the stories so far. Pandora Sykes pieces together what we know about Britney’s journey, and its place in pop culture history.

In this eight-part series for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4, Pandora traces Britney’s incredible life: from her hardscrabble childhood in rural Louisiana, to her coronation as the inaugural pop princess of the internet, navigating an insatiable celebrity gossip complex; through to a young mother on trial by the paparazzi.

Britney is a pop culture phenomenon. Pandora looks behind that mask - and beyond Britney herself - to explore how Britney became the most Googled person in the world, for almost seven years, and what it says, both then and now, about the entertainment industry, politics, sex and how we see women in the public eye.

Britney’s public struggles saw her placed in a conservatorship, in which she lost the right to control her finances and day to day life. Thirteen years later, and she is in court, pleading for this controversial legal arrangement to end. We will look at how Britney has been transformed from girl-next-door teen sensation to a mute symbol of a supposedly rotten system.

Pieces of Britney mixes documentary, archive and interviews to tell Britney’s remarkable story. It also features drama, written by playwright Katie Hims, to bring Britney and her extraordinary world to life.

Pieces of Britney will be a sympathetic portrayal of Britney, during a time of cultural reappraisal about how we treat women - famous, or otherwise. These are some of the stories that have been told about her - but The Narrative is hers to finish.

Episode 1 Cast:

Britney . . . . . Samantha Dakin
Lynne . . . . . Laurel Lefkow
Jamie . . . . . Elliot Cowan
Sam . . . . . Paul Chahidi
Adnan . . . . . Adam El Hagar

Sound design by Peter Ringrose
Produced by Sasha Yevtushenko and Anne Isger
A Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Audio production for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4

Available now

42 minutes

Last on

Sun 5 Sep 2021 01:00

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Broadcasts

  • Tue 31 Aug 2021 11:00
  • Tue 31 Aug 2021 21:00
  • Sat 4 Sep 2021 13:00
  • Sun 5 Sep 2021 01:00

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