Unforgotten: The Bradford City Fire

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2025

Documentary
History

Summary

On 11 May 1985, a fire, believed to have been started by a discarded cigarette or match, engulfed one of the old wooden stands of Bradford City's Valley Parade stadium, leading to the deaths of 56 spectators. Combining the testimonies of people who survived the fire, family members of those who died, and emergency service first responders, this film seeks to revive the memory of this tragedy.

Review

David Butcher

9.00pm BBC2 Catch up via iPlayer A powerful documentary marks 40 years since fire swept through the main stand at Bradford City’s football ground, killing 56 people. 11 May 1985 was meant to be a day of celebration, the final match of a season in which the club had just clinched the Third Division championship. The trophy was to be paraded after the match.

But just before half time, perhaps from a cigarette end dropped through floorboards, a small fire broke out and within minutes became an inferno. Survivors, photographers and former players recall the horror of that day, as does one woman whose husband and two sons lost their lives: “It isn’t like you get over it,” she says. “You get used to it.”