"It's that idea of ordinary women getting caught up in something much bigger than them." With these words, film-maker Nigel Cole (Calendar Girls) summarises the appeal of the real-life story that inspired his latest feature, Made in Dagenham.

Made in Dagenham is a tragicomedy about the1968 strike by the female workers at the Ford motors plant in Dagenham, which caused a revolt that resonated worldwide and resulted in the advent of the Equal Pay act. Starring Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky) as fictional character and leader of the 'movement' Rita O'Grady, the film tells the story of the 187 sewing machinists from East London who, tired of being underpaid and undervalued, became the unlikely driving forces of the fight for fair pay for women in the UK.

"The idea for Made in Dagenham came out of a programme I'd heard on Radio 4 called 'The Reunion'", explains Stephen Woolley, the award-winning producer behind the film. "The format of the show is to get together a group of people that had been involved in something special in the past. These women were on, talking about the strike of 1968. They had worked in appalling conditions in this factory. But, because they were a very small percentage of the workforce, Ford kept ignoring their requests. Until they finally decided to fight back."

Local Heroines

To portray the mix of fictional and real life characters in the story, director Nigel Cole recruited some of the country's best female talent. Leading lady Hawkins is accompanied by Rosamund Pike (An Education), Miranda Richardson (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), Jaime Winston (Kidulthood) and Andrea Riseborough (Never Let Me Go). Supporting the strong female cast are Bob Hoskins (Mrs Henderson Presents), John Sessions (The Good Shepherd) and Daniel Mays (Shifty).

The cast reportedly formed a close bond, spurred by a shared sense of sympathy and admiration towards the real life struggles of their characters and the resilience and courage they showed.

As Hawkins herself puts it: "Their actions rattled industry and trade unions worldwide. But, for some reason, not many people do know about these women. It's baffling. And actually quite shameful that we had to investigate it for the film's research. They haven't really been recognised until now, which is quite sad. This is a story that needs to be told."

Sixties Look

Made in Dagenham was shot over 40 days, largely on location in England and Wales.

The Ford plant in Dagenham where these women worked in 1960s was the largest factory in Europe at the time, making half a million cars a year and employing 55,000 people, mostly local. With the original plant now gone, a large old factory in Wales was chosen to double as the famous car manufactory.

However, most of the exteriors and interior scenes in the film were shot on locations in East and Central London, including some of the sites where the real events took place back in the sixties.

The estate where Ford workers originally lived in, the Mardyke Estate in Havering (which was previously used in Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank), became the living space for the characters. The production took over four flats at the now redeveloped estate, which were dressed to resemble typical working class abodes from late 1960s and were used as the backdrop for the domestic struggles of some of the key characters.

"The local people were very welcoming", comments Supervising Location Manager Amanda Stevens (Notes on a Scandal, Closer). "We had been working a lot in the area before the start of the shoot, doing a lot of background research so people were aware of the film and were very accommodating. We also used a lot of extras from the estate and across the borough, who were really excited to be part of the film."

Stevens also endorses the work by the professionals behind filming in the area: "The film officers at Havering and Barking and Dagenham were fantastic. They went above and beyond, always helpful and responsive, getting back to us within ten minutes with a helpful answer to our query".

In Dagenham, the Civic Centre doubled as the borough's Town Hall and Eastbrook Comprehensive School is where Rita's son goes to class and where she meets Lisa (Rosamund Pike), a Cambridge-educated woman turned trophy wife who would become a sympathiser of the Ford women's cause.

Other locations featured in the film include the Farmhouse Pub in Dagenham, Croydon Plaza, which doubled for Dagenham High Street, and Fairfield Halls, an arts centre used as Ford's headquarters in Michigan, US.

Romford Cemetery and Newington Green's Working Men's Club can also be seen in the film. While Rainham Hall, a National Trust Georgian property, doubled as the gardens at Number 10 where the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity and the Ford women's main political supporter, Barbara Castle (Miranda Richardson), meets with Prime Minister Harold Wilson (John Sessions).

Central London locations featured include the Treasury and the Foreign Office, as the women's fight moves from the suburbia to the epicentre of power.

Liz Aelberry, Media Manager at Havering Council explains that hosting the shoot of a period film came with its share of challenges. However, she concludes "it is rewarding to see how it has all come together and to hear everyone talking about the movie that we helped make. I really hope that this film will encourage more and more companies to come and explore the outer London boroughs to see all we can offer and how we can contribute to their film." 

Made in Dagenham and opens in cinemas across the UK on 1 October.