Maiden is the inspirational story of how Tracy Edwards, a 24-year-old cook on charter boats, became the skipper of the first ever all-female crew to enter the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1989. Tracy’s dream was opposed on all sides: her male competitors thought an all-women crew would never make it, the chauvinistic yachting press took bets on her failure, and potential sponsors rejected her, fearing they would die at sea and generate bad publicity. But Tracy refused to give up: she re-mortgaged her home and bought a second-hand boat, putting everything on the line to ensure the team made it to the start line. With the support of her remarkable crew she went on to shock the sport and prove that women are the equal of men.

Alex is a BAFTA award-winning filmmaker whose moving and provocative work spans both documentary and drama. He wrote and directed the searing documentary Stop at Nothing: The Lance Armstrong Story for ABC, which Variety magazine described as “riveting... devastating... thought-provoking”, as well as Emmy, Bafta and RTS-winning dramas House of Saddam, Dunkirk and Coalition. Last year Alex directed the horror influenced revenge thriller Paula for the BBC which the Telegraph called “Harrowing, brilliant and superbly directed”.