5 Orders Freddie Mercury: A Secret Daughter

5 has commissioned Freddie Mercury: A Secret Daughter, a feature documentary told through the musician’s private journals.

The film examines evidence from Lesley-Ann Jones, Mercury’s most prolific biographer, that he fathered a daughter in the 1970s and kept a loving relationship with her. According to Jones, Mercury kept private journals and notebooks in which he recorded his life story and innermost thoughts throughout the close 14-year relationship.

Jones, who has had complete access to the journals and extensive contact with the woman understood to be Mercury’s daughter—referred to as “B” to protect her privacy—will reveal her own story and a new, very personal take on Mercury’s life.

The documentary will have unprecedented access to the journals via Jones, who was offered them by “B,” who in turn says that Mercury handed them to her himself. Jones learned of their existence when “B” tracked her down. The two women developed a friendship over several years, which culminated in “B” granting Jones permission to share the contents of the journals, as well as her own memories of Mercury, for a new book titled Love, Freddie.

Freddie Mercury: A Secret Daughter will air later this year to coincide with the publication of Love, Freddie. It will be distributed internationally by Sphere Abacus.

“This new investigation by Freddie’s most well-known biographer gives new insight into one of the world’s most famous and iconic rock legends,” said Guy Davies, consultant editor for commissioning at 5. “Freddie the loving father is a side that apparently virtually no one saw. Over many years, Lesley-Ann has become close to ‘B,’ gaining her trust and confidence. This is her story.”

Ed Taylor, executive producer on behalf of Honey Bee, commented, “Freddie Mercury has long been celebrated as a rock icon, but thanks to journalist Lesley-Ann Jones’ extraordinary three-year investigation, this film offers an entirely different perspective—Freddie as a doting father and loving family man. It’s a great privilege to be working with 5 again to bring this new viewpoint to the screen.”

“Having spent a quarter of a century researching and writing books about Freddie Mercury and having covered Queen’s performances on the road, I thought I knew virtually all that there was to know about him,” Jones said. “I was wrong. Working with his only child and next of kin over several years to create the book that tells his true story in his and his daughter’s own words has been the greatest privilege of my professional life. I could never have imagined this hidden Freddie. Yet he was real.”