Stacey Dooley received the prestigious Grierson Trustees’ Award at this years ceremony in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the art and craft of documentary.
The Lutonian has made more than 100 documentaries exploring a wide range of subjects, with an emphasis on social-issue themes such as child labour, women in developing countries, slavery and the illegal narcotics trade.
The trustees were impressed by the way in which Dooley forged her career without a journalism or broadcasting background and brought a fresh perspective to the genre.
Lorraine Heggessey, chair of the Grierson Trust said: “Her films and series have fearlessly tackled the big issues that affect young, diverse and marginalised people around the world. Her emotional intelligence enables her to build a natural rapport with her interviewees and she is also willing to challenge those in authority by asking direct, difficult questions.
“This has earned her respect from audiences and peers alike, and she has regularly been mentioned by our Grierson DocLab trainees as the inspiration for wanting to become a documentary maker. We are all thrilled to recognise Stacey’s contribution to documentary making with this year’s Trustees’ Award.”
Established in 1972, the Griersons are the biggest event in the UK documentary calendar. The awards recognise and celebrate documentaries from Britain and abroad that have made a significant contribution to the genre and that demonstrate quality, integrity, creativity, originality and overall excellence.
Also known as the British Documentary Awards, the Grierson Awards commemorate the pioneering Scottish documentary filmmaker John Grierson (1898–1972), famous for Drifters and Night Mail, and the man widely regarded as the father of documentary.
The BBC has also announced it has commissioned Stacey Dooley: Shoplifting for BBC Three and iPlayer, along with further projects in the pipeline including an additional single documentary and two series, in the week the documentarian and presenter receives the prestigious Trustees’ Award at this year’s Grierson Awards.
Britain is in the grip of a shoplifting epidemic with recorded crimes at their highest since records began. Shoplifting is now costing British businesses £1.8 billion a year and a quarter of Brits admit to having shoplifted. How has shoplifting gotten so out of control and who are the people behind it?
From the young graduates who think they’re owed more from society, the self-checkout swipers who steal more than they paid for and those who say they’re just doing it to survive, Stacey will unpick the many reasons people give for why they steal.
Dooley will also check in with those at the front line of trying to deter and catch the thieves, seeing for herself the extreme measures some businesses are having to take to avoid losing hundreds and thousands of pounds of stock. She will meet the workers on the shop floor and witness the impact that constant shoplifting is having on their lives, and meet staff who’ve been subjected to violence and abuse from shoplifters as they try and do their jobs.
The former Stopsley High School student has fronted numerous BBC titles including Stacey Dooley: Stalkers, Stacey Dooley: Ready for War? And Two Daughters. Dooley has made over 70 documentaries for the BBC exploring a wide range of subjects, with an emphasis on social-issue themes such as child labour, women in developing countries, slavery and the illegal narcotics trade.
Her career was kick started following an appearance in 2008 BBC Three documentary Blood, Sweat and T-Shirts. The Grierson Award trustees were impressed by the way which Dooley forged her career without a journalism or broadcasting background and brought a fresh perspective to the genre.
Dooley’s previous awards include the One World Media Awards’ Popular Features Award for Face to Face with ISIS, Best Presenter at the 2021 Women in Film and Television Awards, and On-Screen Personality at the 2023 RTS East Awards for Two Daughters. She was awarded an MBE for services to broadcasting in 2018.
Dooley said: “I’m incredibly honoured to receive the Grierson Trustee Award. With a significant rise in shoplifting, it feels more important than ever to spend proper time with the people and complexities involved. This recognition fuels my commitment to keep telling these stories, and I’m thankful for all the support – and those who have backed me from the start – that allows me to keep pushing forward”.
Clare Sillery, Head of Commissioning, Documentaries, says: “Stacey Dooley has taken documentary viewers into some of the most challenging places and so I’m delighted to see her talent recognised as the recipient of this year’s Grierson Trustees’ Award 2024. In this latest film Stacey explores a high street epidemic, spending time with young shoplifters and the shop staff on the front line. This, along with other films we’re working on with Stacey, will bring a unique insight into the changing face of modern Britain”.
