The death of Dorset teenager Gaia Pope-Sutherland in November 2017 will be explored in a new, three-part documentary for BBC Three called Gaia: A Death on Dancing Ledge. 
 

Gaia (pictured, right) was 19 years old when she died; the programme, presented by Zara McDermott,  will hear from her friends and family about her life and the circumstances leading up to her death. It will examine the oversights by officials, including the police and health care professionals. 
 

Gaia: A Death on Dancing Ledge is from Summer Films and executive produced by Lucy Hillman and Sam Whittaker.
 

Gaia’s older sister, Clara, twin sister, Maya, her mother, Kim and father, Richard, said: “Gaia would have been 25 earlier this month, our hearts ache thinking about everything she was and all the possibilities of what she could have become. With the release of this series, we’re clinging on to the hope that we can be part of the change Gaia so desperately needed.
 

“We want young people and survivors watching to know that they are not alone; there are people and organisations that will listen to and support you. In speaking up, united we can eliminate the perpetuation of rape culture in society and hold the authorities that are meant to protect us to account.”
 

Presenter/documentary filmmaker McDermott added: “When I first heard about the disappearance of 19-year-old Gaia on the news in 2017, I was immediately struck by her story. She and I were the same age. I saw Gaia’s face on the news for days and days after this, and it really struck a chord with me. 
 

“A young woman with the world at her feet, yet her life was over before it had even begun. I began diving deeper into Gaia’s story, alongside her brave family, and I uncovered a huge amount in the year and a half I spent down in Dorset. This young woman needed a voice, and I wanted to tell her story.”

Image of Gaia via BBC.