大象传媒

Pandora Sykes explores how her controversially-named debut single catapulted teenage Britney into stardom.

In this eight-part series for 大象传媒 Radio 4, Pandora traces Britney鈥檚 incredible life: from her hardscrabble childhood in rural Louisiana, to her coronation as the inaugural pop princess of the internet, navigating an insatiable celebrity gossip complex; through to a young mother on trial by the paparazzi.

Britney is a pop culture phenomenon. Pandora looks behind that mask - and beyond Britney herself - to explore how Britney became the most Googled person in the world, for almost 7 years, and what it says, both then and now, about the entertainment industry, politics, sex and how we see women in the public eye.

Britney鈥檚 public struggles saw her placed in a conservatorship, in which she lost the right to control her finances and day to day life. Thirteen years later, and she is in court, pleading for this controversial legal arrangement to end. We will look at how Britney has been transformed from girl-next-door teen sensation to pop music鈥檚 Rapunzel, trapped in a supposedly rotten system.

Pieces of Britney mixes documentary, archive and interviews to tell Britney鈥檚 remarkable story. It also features drama, written by playwright Katie Hims, to bring Britney and her extraordinary world to life.

Pieces of Britney is a sympathetic portrayal of Britney, during a time of cultural reappraisal about how we treat women - famous, or otherwise.

Episode 3 Cast:

Britney . . . . . Samantha Dakin
Lynne . . . . . Laurel Lefkow
Dave . . . . . Paul Chahidi
Jamie . . . . . Elliot Cowan
Jamie Lynn . . . . . Tillie Murray
Other parts were played by Joseph Ayre and Julianna Jennings

Sound design by Peter Ringrose
Produced by Sasha Yevtushenko and Anne Isger