The Manchester skyline has transformed beyond all recognition over the past decade – with even more changes on the way over the coming years.
Now, the BBC has stepped in to commission a new TV series to tell the story.
Manctopia: Billion Pound Property Boom, set to screen on BBC Two next week, meets the people living and working in the eye of Manchester’s remarkable housing boom – charting the rise of one of Britain’s fastest developing cities.
Filmed over a period of 12 months, Manctopia explores how the changes have affected all the different types of people living in the city.
This includes millionaires looking for the perfect penthouse, mums who want to find an affordable home the kids will love, and those in homeless shelters trying to get themselves off the streets.
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Narrated by Mancunian Sally Lindsay, the series also speaks to the property developers and decision-makers shaping the city, as well as the communities struggling to keep up.
With so many new homes being built in Greater Manchester not classed as ‘affordable housing’, families who have lived in the area for generations are slowly being out-priced.
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The programme also meets some of the 5,000 homeless people across the city and looks at the services and charities out there to support them.
Each of the four 60 minute episodes are stories of the troubles, joy and million pound deals happening every day in Manctopia.
Emma Loach, BBC Documentaries Commissioning Editor, said: “Property can be a dry financial issue – but behind every property deal is a person and a family. This series tells the stories of their lives and the highs and lows of the property process.”
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Grace Reynolds and Sophie Leonard, Executive Producers from Minnow Films added: “We were struck by the building boom in Manchester and felt there must be a human story to tell behind the skyscrapers.
“We found people with compelling stories, living through an astonishing time, many of them strikingly interconnected. Through them we are able to learn all kinds of things; about cities and their development; what home means to us; and what the future may look like.”
Manctopia: Billion Pound Property Boom is coming to BBC Two on 18 August.
GMP appeals after pedestrian potentially involved in police pursuit dies following M60 collision
Emily Sergeant
A public appeal has been issued after a pedestrian was killed following a collision between the M60 and M66.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) explained that the pedestrian – confirmed to have been a 19-year-old man – was struck by a vehicle travelling southbound on the M66 as it meets the M60 at Simister Island at around 9:40pm this past Sunday evening (16 November).
According to investigating officers, it’s believed the deceased male may’ve been in a car previously involved in a pursuit with a GMP patrol.
A blue BMW X3 was initially spotted driving at speed on Bury Old Road and then went through a red light, which led to a police pursuit.
Police lost sight of the vehicle, before subsequently finding it on the Junction 18 roundabout of the M60, where it was believed to be abandoned after having collided with another vehicle, and the passengers had fled the scene on foot along the motorway.
Once the BMW passengers had fled the scene, this is what is thought to have lead to a collision with a Tesla – where the 19-year-old man sadly died.
Now, police are appealing to the public for information, witnesses, and CCTV or dashcam footage.
At this time, no arrests have been made in relation to the incident, and in line with what is said to be ‘normal procedure’, referrals have been made to GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) for investigation.
Speaking as the appeal has been issued, DC Ian Lawton from GMP’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit (SCIU), said: “Officers initiated a pursuit in accordance with policy after a vehicle failed to stop for police after being seen driving at speed, and the subsequent collision and tragic fatal injuries are now part of an independent review with the IOPC.
“We extend our condolences to the family, and are appealing for anyone with information to please come forward and report.”
Can you help? Any with any information is asked to contact GMP on 0161 856 4741, quoting reference number 3150 of 16/11/2025, or information can also be shared using the ‘report’ tool or LiveChat function at www.gmp.police.uk.
Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Featured Image – David Dixon (via Wikimedia Commons)
News
‘Powerful’ new BBC documentary to tell the stories of the Southport victims’ families
Emily Sergeant
The BBC is set to tell the stories of the Southport attack victims’ families in a powerful new documentary airing next month.
The Southport attack was a tragedy that hit the nation like no other last summer, and the new hour-long documentary, titled Our Girls: The Southport Families, follows the parents of three young girls – nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar, six-year-old Bebe King, and seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe – who tragically lost their lives in the process.
Last summer, the three little girls had excitedly gone to a Taylor Swift-themed dance class – but tragically, they never came home.
Over the last nine months, a small team from the BBC followed the families’ journey through unimaginable grief and the beginnings of hope, and now their deeply personal interviews are to be shown alongside family footage shared for the first time.
Producers say the ‘moving’ documentary will show the joy the girls brought, and the legacies the parents are now building in their memory.
Set to air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in early December, viewers will get to watch as the parents plan to create lasting legacies in their daughters’ names – Alice’s Wonderdance, Bebe’s Hive, and Elsie’s Story.
It will also show the parents’ fundraising efforts to build a playground at the school attended by two of the girls, which they hope will become a space for ‘joy, remembrance, and community’.
“This inspirational film is a heartfelt tribute to Alice, Bebe and Elsie, told through the voices of those who knew and loved them most,” explained Richard Frediani, who is the Executive Editor at BBC Breakfast and BBC News.
“It is both heartbreaking and uplifting, a testament to the strength of three families united in grief and now driven by purpose to ensure their names are never forgotten.”
Sarah Campbell, who is a BBC News correspondent, added: “Our hope is that people will take from their story that it is possible to find light and humanity in the darkest of times.”
Our Girls: The Southport Families will air on BBC One on Tuesday 9 December at 8pm, and will later be available on iPlayer.
The Manc -
12th August 2020 
