It was the year when Concorde made its first supersonic flight. When The Beatles broke up. And when Love Story dominated the global box office. It was 1970 and the organisers of the Miss World contest were expecting record TV viewing figures – there were only three channels in those days. And they got them – but not in the way they expected.
The story behind what became the most famous beauty pageant ever is the subject of Misbehaviour, which is released this Friday. While the show was being broadcast live, Women’s Liberation protestors in the audience brought proceedings to a halt with a noisy demonstration. And, when the winner was eventually chosen, she turned out to be the first woman of colour to wear the crown.
Miss Grenada, Jennifer Hosten, is played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle, Motherless Brooklyn) and she talks in the interview below about why the film’s themes meant it was a role she couldn’t turn down. And she also describes meeting the real Jennifer Hosten, who went on to be a diplomat after her time as Miss World. Director Philippa Lowthorpe (Swallows And Amazons, TV’s The Crown and Three Girls) describes how the idea for the film was sparked by a radio programme and how the real members of Women’s Liberation depicted on the screen, as well as Hosten herself, were involved in bringing their story to the big screen.
Misbehaviour is released in cinemas on Friday, 13 March.
