The creator of World On Fire has revealed the incredible family story that formed part of his inspiration for the BBC One drama.
Peter Bowker’s series, starring Sean Bean and Helen Hunt, follows ordinary civilians across Europe caught up in the war - including a family from Manchester.
Eagle-eyed viewers will already have noticed several locations over the first two episodes, including Strangeways, Castlefield, and John Rylands library.
But as well as setting many of the scenes in his native Greater Manchester, Peter told the Manchester Evening News that two characters in the programme were inspired by his own family history.
Factory girl Lois Bennett, played by Julia Brown, is a singer at a local bar with her piano playing co-star Connie Knight, played by Yrsa Daley-Ward.
Peter revealed that Lois - daughter of Sean Bean’s character Douglas - is actually based on his own grandmother Rowena Mostyn, who was in a duet with her best friend Anna Littlewood, who was originally from the West Indies.
“The Manchester scenes are based on my own family, specifically my mum’s mum, my grandmother,” he told us.
“She was in a singing duo with a West Indian woman called Anna in the 1930s called the Two Shades - not the most politically correct name by today’s standards.
“They used to sing in clubs in Levenshulme such as the Palais De Danse."
In the series, Lois and Connie can be seen performing together in the club, and have their sights set on serving their country using their musical skills.
Episode two, which aired on October 6, saw Lois and Connie auditioning for ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association) in a bid to be selected to entertain the troops as part of the war effort.
Peter said: “As well as performing, my grandma and Aunty Anna were volunteer ambulance workers during the Manchester Blitz.
"They also worked in the munitions factory.
“Sadly my grandma had a stroke when she was just 46 so I never actually met her.
"She died just after the war ended, which is a sad irony. But Anna was part of the family until the early eighties when she died
“Sadly my grandmother died before I was born, but the lady we called Aunty Anna was a part of the family right up until the early 80s when she died.
“When I was growing up, all my mates would ask, who is your Aunty Anna? They couldn’t work out how she could be my aunty.
“She was very vivacious and loved showbiz gossip. She always bought The Stage magazine, and Christmas Top of the Pops was always ruined by her strident opinion of modern music.”
Peter, who also created The A Word with Christopher Eccleston, Lee Ingleby and Morven Christie, explained why the industrial backdrop of Greater Manchester was perfect for World On Fire.
“Every time I come to film the city has transformed that little bit more,” he said.
“For me, the Mancunian accent is a rhythm that I always gravitate towards - I drift into it when writing scripts even if the character isn’t from Manchester.
“I grew up here and places like Granada were such a part of the city’s history.
"I've always thought that Manchester is the place to be with regards to filming.
“As the city’s film production companies grew, people got used to the city being a TV and film hot spot.
"There is some incredible talent up here - both actors and crew, plus it’s always good to get away from London for a bit.”
Peter laughs when he recalls the moment they were filming at the Police Museum on Newton Street with Game of Thrones star Sean Bean.
“You could see all these people doing double takes, thinking, that bus driver looks like Sean Bean,” Peter revealed.
“He’s great. When I spoke to him about getting involved he only had one question for me - do I die?
When I said no, he said he’d do it. He always seems to die in his parts.
“He’s completely down to earth - he loves talking about football. He’s not at all the kind of power that comes across on screen. He’s quite understated, really.”
World On Fire continues on Sunday at 9pm on BBC One.
