Historian helps bring the Industrial Revolution to the screen

AN historian from MMU has been making sure that a television series accurately recreates the gritty reality of 19th century Cheshire – complete with smallpox and the threat of the workhouse.

Terry Wyke, Senior Lecturer in History, was asked to act as historical consultant on the latest series of The Mill, which is currently showing on Channel 4.

Working alongside writer John Fay and producer Jonathan Edwards, Terry helped ensure the series gives a realistic impression of what life was like for the mill workers and owners who drove the North’s textile industry.

Terry said: “For me it's been a fantastic insight into the creative process of developing and making a TV drama series. Both John Fay and Jonathan Edwards are extremely intelligent guys, brimming over with insights and sharp questions about the history of the period - it's certainly kept me on my toes.”

Real-life characters

The Mill was filmed at Quarry Bank Mill, a National Trust property. The first series broke viewing records, with an average of 3.2 million viewers per episode.

The series dramatizes the events of the Industrial Revolution, and features real people who are known to have worked in the mill.

As part of his role, Terry attended script meetings and checked through the scripts before filming. “My job was to ensure that within the limits of the story what was being said was historically correct,” he said.

Terry said he was “especially pleased” about the depiction of the rallies that, he says, are “key parts of the story”.

Dramatic revolution

While Terry’s job was to make sure the script reflected the historical record where appropriate, he says he also had to know when to step back and let the writers use their imagination.

“As a historian you are always looking just at the historical record,” he said. “What’s interesting is that in drama you can go further and use your imagination – that space is where the artist brings the insight that as a historian you are fixed to the record. They go past where the record runs out.”

Terry has previously worked on factual shows including Who Do You Think You Are and Antiques Roadshow, as well as a BBC Radio 4 series on the Victorians hosted by Ian Hislop, and specialises in local history.

He said: “The industrial revolution is where the modern world came into existence and of course Manchester was very much at the centre of this dramatic revolution.”