Freddie Mercury: A Secret Daughter? | Preview (5)

This is the story of the flamboyant Queen front man you have never heard. This landmark feature documentary lifts the lid on one of rock music’s most fascinating and intriguing revelations from Freddie Mercury’s most prolific biographer that Freddie fathered a daughter in the 1970s, known as “B”, and had a warm and loving relationship with her.

According to the new investigation by Lesley-Ann Jones, Freddie allegedly kept private journals and notebooks in which he recorded his life story and innermost thoughts, throughout a close 14-year father/daughter relationship, until just before his untimely death in 1991.

But the revelations and the suggestion that Freddie was a secret father have also been the subject of controversy since they emerged, and this film also explores the reaction to the revelations from some of those close to Freddie. In the press Mary Austin, Freddie’s long-term girlfriend, has said she never knew of a child, yet Queen themselves have remained tight lipped about the existence of a secret daughter.

Others talk of rumours in the past. Lesley-Ann is clear that all the correct checks have been carried out in preparation for publication of her book, and information from the notebooks reflect details that only someone really close to Freddie could know. The film casts new light on some of the key moment in Freddie’s life, moments that are re-appraised by the contents of the journals which “B” reveals.

As this new biography, 'Love, Freddie…' is released, this film has unprecedented access to what “B” says in the 17 journals via Lesley-Ann’s research and exclusive interviews. This could be an entirely new understanding of Freddie’s private life and personal struggles.

These recollections, according to “B”, will be the first and only time that Freddie’s true life story will have been told by his own flesh and blood. Yet the controversy remains, and one of rock's greatest and most intriguing revelations looks set to remain for years to come.

Guy Davies, Consultant Editor for Commissioning, 5, commented: “This new investigation by Freddie’s most well-known biographer gives new insight into one of the world’s most famous and iconic rock legends.  Freddie the loving father is a side that apparently virtually no-one saw. Over many years, Lesley-Ann has become close with “B”, gaining her trust and confidence. This is her story.”

Ed Taylor, Executive Producer, Honey Bee said: "Freddie Mercury has long been celebrated as a rock icon, but thanks to journalist Lesley-Ann Jones’s extraordinary three-year investigation, this film offers an entirely different perspective – Freddie as a doting father and loving family man. It’s a great privilege to be working with 5 again to bring this new viewpoint to the screen".

Lesley-Ann Jones, journalist and author of ‘Love, Freddie’ said: “Having spent a quarter of a century researching and writing books about Freddie Mercury, and having covered Queen’s performances on the road, I thought I knew virtually all that there was to know about him...

"I was wrong. Working with his only child and next of kin over several years to create the book that tells his true story in his and his daughter’s own words has been the greatest privilege of my professional life. I could never have imagined this hidden Freddie. Yet he was real.”

Freddie Mercury: A Secret Daughter? airs Saturday 6th September on 5.