Leigh-Anne Pinnock's documentary about racism re-airs TONIGHT
In case you missed Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop & Power the first time round!
Last updated 30th Mar 2022
She's one-third of one of the biggest girl bands on the planet in Little Mix, and has a huge following from across the world, but that sadly hasn't stopped Leigh-Anne Pinnock falling victim to some shocking racial abuse. Last year, Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop & Power aired on BBC One, and is re-airing tonight (30th March 2022) on BBC Three.
The powerful documentary will be airing on BBC Three at 9pm on Wednesday 30th March, with Leigh-Anne taking to her Instagram Story to spread the news.
After appearing in Channel 4 documentary The Talk alongside her parents in 2020, the 30-year-old was announced to be fronting her very own BBC documentary in August 2021, following in the footsteps of her former Little Mix bandmate Jesy Nelson, whose own doc Odd One Out went on to win a National Television Award.
When is Leigh-Anne Pinnock's racism documentary airing?
The show, entitled Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop & Power, will be airing again on 30th March 2022 on BBC Three at 9pm - almost a year after it first hit screens.
The documentary first aired on 13th May 2021, on BBC One at 9pm. It was also available to watch on BBC Three. Official press about the doc stated: 'This powerful one-off documentary follows pop star Leigh-Anne Pinnock as she confronts her experience as the only black member of Little Mix, and as a black woman in the music industry.'
What is it about?
The BBC adds: 'Leigh-Anne embarks on her own, very personal journey, to understand how she can use her platform and privilege to combat the profound racism she sees in society around her. After she takes on this, her biggest and most important mission yet, news of George Floyd’s death and Black Lives Matter protests begin to sweep the world.
'With the force of a global movement now behind her, Leigh-Anne confronts those closest to her and attempts to bring difficult conversations about black representation right to the top of the music industry.'
Who else is in the documentary?
Her parents, John and Deborah, will also appear, with each explaining how they initially encouraged Leigh-Anne to "toughen up", but will explain how their attitudes changed over the years when they saw exactly what Leigh-Anne was having to deal with.
The documentary will also feature fellow pop stars Alexandra Burke, NAO, Raye and Keisha Buchanan from the Sugababes, discussing their own experiences within the music industry, and Leigh-Anne also confronts her fiancé Andre Gray about offensive tweets he wrote years ago.
Leigh-Anne's documentary trailer
Leigh-Anne has also shared a trailer for the documentary on her Instagram profile, writing: 'My documentary 'Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop & Power' premieres tomorrow on BBC ONE at 9pm, I'm so excited for you all to see this and for the opportunity to tell my story so far. You'll also be able to watch on the BBC iPlayer from midnight. 🖤🖤🖤'
When was the doc announced?
Speaking in August when the documentary was announced, Leigh-Anne said: "Conversations surrounding racism and colourism are something I constantly have with my boyfriend and family.
"Systemic racism is complex; through making this documentary I want to learn how I can best lend my voice to the debate so that the young people who look up to me won't have to face what me and my generation have had to."
Posting about the news on Instagram, Leigh-Anne wrote: 'I am so happy to finally reveal that I will be doing a documentary for @bbcthree about Racism and Colourism in the UK! These conversations need to be bought to a wider audience and I want to do all I can to stand up for my black and brown community! I cant say too much, but watch this space! 🖤🖤🖤'. (sic)
Following the tragic death of American George Floyd earlier this year, which resulted in the powerful Black Lives Matter protests, Leigh-Anne uploaded an emotional video of herself to Instagram, admitting has racism has affected her time in Little Mix.
Uploading the five-minute video of herself candidly speaking, Leigh-Anne recalled the moment she was told by choreographer Frank Gatson during the 'Wings' video shoot that she would have to 'work 10 times harder' because of the colour of her skin.
She said: "He said to me, ‘You’re the Black girl, you have to work 10 times harder.’ Never in my life had someone told me I would need to work harder because of my race.”
Leigh-Anne then added: “Later on, what Frank Gatson said made sense. I learned that the dream of being in the biggest girl band in the world came with its flaws and consequences. Consequences such as knowing about the existent underlined racism in the creative industries."
Scroll through Leigh-Anne Pinnock's career timeline:
2011 - Leigh-Anne Pinnock auditions for The X Factor
Prior to auditioning for The X Factor, Leigh-Anne Pinnock worked as a part-time as a waitress at Pizza Hut. In 2011, she chased her pop stardom dreams and auditioned for the show as a solo artist.
Leigh-Anne was soon put into a girl group along with Jade Thirlwall, and Perrie Edwards and Jesy Nelson, originally named Rhythmix. They soon changed their name to Little Mix as they continued with the show.
2011 - Little Mix won The X Factor
On 11th December 2011, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards and Jesy Nelson became the first group to win The X Factor, with Little Mix crowned the champions.
2012 - 'Wings' becomes the band's second Number 1
'Wings' became the band's second consecutive Number 1 single in the UK after 'Cannonball'. Leigh-Anne co-wrote 'Wings' alongside the rest of the group and other songwriters.
2015 - Leigh-Anne launched a fashion blog
In 2015 Leigh-Anne launched a blog called Leigh Loves. The fashion blog used to show some of the outfits Leigh-Anne and the girls would wear throughout the week.
2016 - Leigh-Anne started dating footballer Andre Gray
Leigh-Anne and Andre started dating back in 2016.
She made it Instagram official in January 2017 by posting a photo of him hugging her, with the caption: 'Gonna miss this one 💔'.
2017 - ‘Shout Out To My Ex’ won a BRIT Award
'Shout Out To My Ex' was another song co-written by Leigh-Anne, released in 2016. The song went on to become a Number 1 single in the UK and also won the group at BRIT Award for British Single of the Year, in 2017 fighting off competition from Calvin Harris, Coldplay and James Arthur.
2019 - Leigh-Anne climbed Mount Kilimanjaro
Leigh-Anne, along with her Little Mix pal Jade Thirlwall climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day.
2019 - Leigh-Anne launches swimwear range In'A'Seashell
In 2019 Leigh-Anne launched her own swimwear range In'A'Seashell.
Leigh-Anne and Jade also signed to Sony's TwentySeven publishing group as songwriters in April!
2020 - Leigh-Anne and Andre got engaged
Leigh-Anne and Andre got engaged on their four-year anniversary, 28th May 2020.
The pop star also had a busy year with launching her own production house, Pinnock Productions, and a style edit collection with ASOS.
Leigh-Anne and Jade won an Equality Award for their work towards racial equality in the UK.
2021 - Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop and Power airs
Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop and Power, the documentary featuring Leigh-Anne talking about racial issues aired in May 2021.
In May 2021, Leigh-Anne and her sister launched a charity called The Black Fund. The charity works with existing charities to deliver support to the black community.
2021 - Leigh-Anne announced that she was pregnant
In May 2021 Leigh-Anne announced that she was pregnant, then in August the singer gave birth to twins.
Leigh-Anne also signed to Taps Music in order to concentrate on solo projects alongside her Little Mix work.
2021 - Guest judge on RuPaul's Drag Race UK
On Thursday 21st October, Leigh-Anne appeared on RuPaul's Drag Race UK as a guest judge. The series featured many famous guests throughout, including Emma Bunton, Steps, Matt Lucas and Oti Mabuse.
Leigh-Anne's bandmate Jade has also been a guest on the show, appearing on the panel back in series one in 2019.
2021 - Boxing Day (film) is released starring Leigh-Anne
Leigh-Anne's film Boxing Day was released on 5th December. Not only did Leigh-Anne's Pinnock Productions contribute to the film, but the singer also stars in it.
The film is a festive rom-com from Aml Ameen who is making his directorial debut with an all black cast including Leigh-Anne, Aja Naomi King and Marianne Jean-Baptiste.
2022 - Leigh-Anne announces solo record deal
In February 2022, Leigh-Anne confirmed she had signed a solo record deal with Warner Records UK, sharing their announcement with the caption: 'So excited for what's to come 😍🙏🏽'.
2022 - Leigh-Anne shares photos from Jamaica
Leigh-Anne shares photos from Jamaica as she confirms she's still working on new music. The singer can be seen with other writers and producers.
2023 - Even more studio snaps!
Leigh-Anne shared yet more snaps from the studio on her Instagram page in January 2023, writing: 'It's been a weird couple of weeks, getting used to certain life changes. Emotions flying.. but I'm excited for the year ahead... we been cooking up a storm 🎶😍'
2023 - Leigh-Anne narrates The Little Mermaid
On 23rd March 2023, Leigh-Anne announced some pretty special news alongside Audible! The singer revealed that she has narrated the original Hans Christian Anderson version of The Little Mermaid exclusively for Audible UK, with the book being available to listen to now.
Within her Instagram caption, Leigh-Anne said: 'Dina Gregory is such an incredible storyteller; reading her adaptation truly made me feel seen in a story I've been so familiar with as a child. There are so many themes within this now iconic storyline that feel so familiar to my own life and so my narration was inspired by not only my experiences but also my culture, my heritage. My hope is that people like myself can see themselves in this story too and I've enjoyed retelling this tale to my own children already 💕'.
2023 - Leigh-Anne announces debut memoir
Leigh-Anne has announced the release of her debut memoir, which is called Believe. The singer posted a video on her Instagram page showing her reading the book, which is out on 26th October and is available to pre-order now. Leigh-Anne's Little Mix bandmates, Perrie and Jade, congratulated her in the comments section.
2023 - Leigh-Anne releases her debut solo single
Leigh-Anne delighted fans by dropping her debut solo song 'Don't Say Love' on 16th June.
Speaking about her new music, Leigh-Anne told us: "I would love to sell out shows on my own. That would be a dream. Just to have fans, just for me I think is gonna be... Ah yeah, there's gonna be tears."
2023 - Leigh-Anne receives an honorary doctorate
In July 2023, Leigh-Anne received an honorary doctorate from Buckinghamshire New University in recognition of her anti-racism and racial equality work. She returned to her home town of High Wycombe to collect the accolade.
2023 - Leigh-Anne announces her second solo single 'My Love'
Leigh-Anne Pinnock announced her second single 'My Love' would be released on 7th September. The song features Nigerian singer Ayra Starr.
2024 - Leigh-Anne releases 'Stealin' Love' and announces an EP
Leigh-Anne released 'Stealin' Love' on 28th March, a new song which will feature on her EP called 'No Hard Feelings'. Leigh-Anne described her EP as a collection of songs which: 'While not part of my album, have helped inform my direction as a artist, a songwriter and a musician.'
2024 - Leigh-Anne announced her first solo headline show
Leigh-Anne will take to the stage for her first headline show since going solo in Lafayette London, a live music venue near Kings Cross.
2024 - Leigh-Anne releases her EP 'No Hard Feelings'
Leigh-Anne released her EP called 'No Hard Feelings' on 31st May. The EP features five songs including 'Stealing Love' and 'Forbidden Fruit'.
November 2024 - Leigh-Anne performs at Hits Radio Live Birmingham
On Friday 22nd November 2024, Leigh-Anne took to the stage of Birmingham's bp pulse LIVE arena for Hits Radio Live, performing solo hits and new music. The 'Don't Say Love' singer wowed audiences with her incredible vocals and energetic dance breaks.
Check out all the pics here.
You can hear Little Mix's biggest hits on Northsound 1.
Read more:
Spice Girls' Geri Horner sent Little Mix flowers after BRITs victory
Little Mix babies: All you need to know about Leigh-Anne and Perrie's pregnancies
All the cutest moments from Perrie Edwards and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's relationship so far 💕