Alex Jones has spoken candidly about her new project. The One Show host returned to her homeland in Wales to film a new documentary marking the approaching 60th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster on October 21, when she witnessed "the saddest thing I've ever seen".
Documentary chronicles village's fight
Aberfan: The Village That Fought Back chronicles how residents took on the National Coal Board in their fight to have the remaining coal tips removed from above the village following the tragedy, which claimed the lives of 116 children and 28 adults when a colliery spoil tip collapsed, sending slurry crashing into a school and neighbouring houses.
Alex has spoken candidly about the experience of making the documentary. The 49-year-old recalls how Aberfan survivors, now in their late sixties and seventies, were instantly transported back to being terrified schoolchildren as they recounted the morning of the tragedy, reports Wales Online.
Survivors 'looked so frightened'
"The people in front of me were in their late 60s, early 70s, but when they went back to the morning of the disaster, they were schoolchildren again. They looked so frightened," she tells the Radio Times.
On visiting Aberfan Cemetery, the mum-of-three confessed: "I don't know whether it was tougher being a mum myself, but it's the saddest thing I've ever seen. It absolutely floored me."
Alex also spent time with Jeff Edwards, the last child to be rescued from the rubble of the school. "There's a photograph of Jeff when he's seven years old with bright blond hair, being pulled out of the rubble, and that picture tells a thousand stories," she adds.
Behind-the-scenes on social media
Throughout the filming process, Alex kept her Instagram followers updated, sharing behind-the-scenes details and photographs from her return to Wales.
She wrote in one post: "Spent this week filming in South Wales and despite the very poignant topic of the documentary, it was so nice to be on home turf, spending time with one of my best friends since school @catrowlands77 who was in charge of the production."
In one of the photographs, Alex stands before a plaque at Pantglas Junior School Memorial Garden, which reads: 'Dedicated to the 116 children and 28 adults who lost their lives 21 October 1966. To those we love and miss so very much. I'r rhai a garwn ac y galarwn o'u colli.'
What is the documentary about?
A synopsis for the programme reads: "The catastrophic collapse in 1966 of a coal-waste tip above the south Wales village of Aberfan remains one of the most devastating tragedies in modern British history. The slide engulfed a school and neighbouring homes, claiming the lives of 116 children and 28 adults in a disaster that shocked the world, but the story of what followed has been largely forgotten."
"Marking the 60th anniversary, this documentary uncovers the little-told story of the extraordinary campaign that emerged in the disaster's aftermath, revealing how a shattered village rose from unimaginable grief to demand justice, challenged the most powerful institutions in Britain, and forced the removal of the coal tips that still loomed above their homes."
The programme's director Ceri Isfryn spoke to the Radio Times, saying: "This happened 60 years ago. But the echoes of authority not taking responsibility and treating people appallingly in the light of awful tragedies means there is a sad relevance today."
Aberfan: The Village That Fought Back airs on Monday, October 19 on BBC Two at 9pm.
