Colchester's Professor Pam Cox stars in new Channel 5 documentary

Professor Pamela Cox provides on-screen analysis for the new three-party series Thirties in Colour: Countdown to War.

The show takes black-and-white films from the era and colourises the footage in a bid to bring the footage to life.

Offering a remarkable window into one of the most turbulent decades in British history it features footage of many familiar events, such as the Battle of Cable Street, an England vs Germany football match featuring an infamous Nazi salute and the opening of the first ever Butlins holiday park.

Prof Cox said: “It was great to be part of this series and to see the Thirties brought to life.

“An event like the Battle of Cable Street – where the East End community came out to challenge Oswald Mosley – may be familiar to us but this footage gives it a new immediacy.”

The Battle of Cable Street colourised

The series was inspired by the Peter Jackson film They Shall Not Grow Old, which restored and colourised silent film footage from the First World Ward.

Other commentators include author Onyeka Nubia, National Trust curator Helen Antrobus and children’s author Michael Rosen.

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Prof Cox, who also represents New Town and Christ Church ward on Colchester Council, is no stranger to TV appearances having previously taken part in Channel 5’s Edwardian Britain in Colour as well as presented BBC series Servants and Shopgirls.

The first episode of Thirties in Colour focuses on setting the scene.

Narrated by Imelda Staunton, it first aired on Tuesday and will continue for the next two Tuesdays.

You can catch up online via My5 at www.my5.tv.